Aussie Open final preview: Serena goes for 22 against 1st-time finalist Kerber

The last official match Serena Williams played before the 2016 Australian Open was one of the most surprising, perplexing, and deflating of her career.

The sting of that defeat, coupled with the ensuing four-month break from competitive tennis, led to some skepticism about her chances of capturing a seventh Daphne Akhurst Cup. Six matches on, she's reminded those skeptics why doubting her is one of the surest ways there is to make oneself look foolish.

Serena has been a hurricane in this tournament, tearing through her half of the draw with little mercy for those turned to rubble in her wake. After winning 12 straight sets while hardly breaking a sweat, she's once again staring down Steffi Graf's Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam titles.

She has but one more obstacle to clear, and though it's not the one she expected, it's also not one to be taken lightly: World No. 7, and first-time Grand Slam finalist, Angelique Kerber.

Does Kerber have a chance?

Not if Serena continues to play the way she's played throughout the tournament. As Agnieszka Radwanska said after her semifinal loss, in which Serena took the first set in 20 minutes while dropping just seven points: ''I was just standing there kind of watching her play. ... I couldn't do much.''

Radwanska's not some scrub, either. She's the fourth-ranked player in the world, and she'd won three straight tournaments coming into Melbourne. She still didn't have a hope against Serena.

Kerber packs a bit more punch than the lean Pole, and hits with less variety, but her game, on the whole, is not dissimilar to Radwanska's. The German is a similarly sturdy, defensive-minded retriever with a knack for making her opponents make mistakes, and she hits the same crouching groundstrokes that allow her to hold the baseline and dig out deep balls.

That style helped her notch a huge quarterfinal win over Victoria Azarenka (the presumptive favorite to emerge from Kerber's half of the draw), and it worked like gangbusters in the semis against Johanna Konta. But Serena isn't likely to be as forgiving as those two were, particularly when it comes to pulling the trigger on Kerber's airy second serve. If Kerber's plan is to wait for Serena to make mistakes, she could be waiting a long time.

Kerber has beaten her once before, but that was back in 2012, and Serena's won their last four matches without dropping a set.

Chasing history ... again

One of the most remarkable things about Serena is that at age 34, after having made history multiple times over, she keeps finding more history to make. Graf retired when she was 30. Serena's spent the vast majority of her 30s ranked No. 1 in the world, and has won more majors since her 30th birthday (eight) than any other woman on tour has in her career.

With the Open Era record in her crosshairs, she insists she won't be thinking about historical implications, which seemed to wear on her during her quest for the Calendar Slam at last year's US Open.

"I definitely block it out," Williams told reporters.

"It took me forever to get to 18," she added, referring to the major title that tied her with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. "I was so stressed out. I don't want to relive that at all."

Kerber, for her part, is looking to become the first German to win a major since Graf won her last one in 1999. Asked if she felt duty-bound to help protect her countrywoman's record, she said: "I think so. The Germans must be together."

Nothing to lose

After four years of consistent fringe contention spent in and around the top 10, Kerber has finally broken through to a Grand Slam final. But it's how she's done it that's been most surprising: Showing unprecedented belief, digging herself out of holes, and elevating her game in big moments.

Moments don't get any bigger than this one, but the 28-year-old now feels she's past the point of being fazed.

"Right now I don't have pressure any more," she said. "I have showed myself that I'm one of the best players in the world. I'm proud of this. ... I am really looking forward to playing Serena in the final. I have nothing to lose."

We'll see if Kerber's attitude holds up when she's staring across the net at Serena Williams on Saturday.