15 July, 2017
Venus Williams could become the oldest woman to win a Grand Slam singles title in the Open Era when she meets Garbine Muguruza in Saturday's Wimbledon final. On Thursday in 64 sure minutes, she upheld that notion and reached her second Wimbledon final. She won the French Open last year, and was runner-up to Serena Williams at Wimbledon the year before. As it is, she is the oldest finalist at Wimbledon since Martina Navratilova was the 1994 runner-up at age 39.
"So I have more information about the situation".
"I'm as calm as a sister can be, which really isn't that calm", Serena said in a telephone interview with espnW on Wednesday. It goes very fast, so I'm trying to enjoy. There's little doubt Muguruza is at the top of her game. As time went on, there were questions about whether she might retire, especially after a half-dozen first-round losses at major tournaments.
"It's more nerve-wracking watching her because when I'm playing, it's all in my hands".
But subsequent slams have shown that to be the rediscovered norm, with 2017 the year of the the thirtysomething player. Just last month, Muguruza left her press conference at Roland Garros in tears after relinquishing the crown she had won a year earlier.
- Venus has played 101 matches at Wimbledon.
"She's helping me to deal with the stress of the tournament, because it's a long tournament", Muguruza said.
"There's times where maybe you aren't as relaxed as other moments, but it's about handling it".
The five-time Wimbledon victor, who first learned the sport on the courts of Compton, will face Spain's Garbine Muguruza on Saturday with another championship and history on the line. This will be her second Wimbledon final; she lost to Williams' younger sister, Serena, in 2015. "It's going to be, like, a historic final again".
- Average ranking of Muguruza's opponents this fortnight is 55. All were born in the year that Williams made her first main draw appearance at Wimbledon.
She has tried, coach David Witt said, to "just focus on the tennis". The German won the first set 6-4 but Muguruza came back to take the game 6-4, 4-6, 4-6. Instead of fading away, they're remaining dominant as the years tick by - raising the overall age of tennis champions as they go. It was a risky strategy, going for so much pace on a second serve, but it worked. Silic has one, the 2014 U.S. Open. The record is now owned by her sister Serena, who won the Australian Open this January at the age of 35. I thought the crowd was so fair.
"You know, I played her also before". She certainly impressed me. "That's what she's doing and, even though I'm not playing, that's what I'm doing right now for her". The Gentlemen's Singles tournament has completed all but one match at Wimbledon.
"Not my best day", Rybarikova said.
"I'm feeling pretty good", she said.
Rybarikova, who ousted third seed Karolina Pliskova, seemed off-colour in front of Muguruza who put on a strong performance, to get into the final for the second time at the All England Club.
"I'll have to ask Serena for some pointers", Venus Williams said.
