Venus insists she won’t give up the ghost just yet
At 37 years old, Venus Williams was the oldest woman to make the Wimbledon final since Martina Navratilova. And even though she came up short in her bid to win her sixth singles title at SW19 – losing 7-5, 6-0 to Garbine Muguruza on Saturday – Venus is confident she has another grand slam success in her.
There was almost nothing to separate Williams and Muguruza in a highquality first set, and it was the American veteran who had the first sniff with two set points at 5-4. But Muguruza saved them both and did not look back, committing fully to her game plan, defending superbly when needed and not letting her focus slip for a minute.
Williams hit five doublefaults, three in one game and once to get broken to begin the second set. She finished with 25 unforced errors, more than twice as many as Muguruza.
But Venus, who has not won a grand slam title away from Wimbledon since the US Open in 2001 and last won here in 2008, isn’t giving up yet.
“I’ve been in a position a lot of times this year to contend for big titles,” she said. “That’s the kind of position I want to keep putting myself in. It’s just about getting over the line.”
Williams has contested two slam finals this year but finished on the losing side both times after also coming up short against her sister, Serena, in Australia. “I’ve had a great two weeks,” she added. “I’m looking forward to the rest of the summer.”