The Sunday Post (Inverness)

Williams is Mug-ged going for number six

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Venus Williams capitulate­d in the second set.

“I didn’t used to like grass. I hadn’t played on it until being aWimbledon qualifier at 17 or 18.

“It took me a while to adapt, but after my first final here I told myself to stop complainin­g. My game suits this surface.

“It’s very hard to find a recipe for good tennis, fitness-wise and mentally, and in this tournament I put it all together.

“I was expecting to face the best of Venus and I knew she’d make me fight for it.

“She’s a role model and I’m surprised how hungry she is to keep winning. I probably won’t be like that at her age.”

Williams had few chances but the biggest came in the tenth game of the first set, when she was 5- 4 and 40- 15 up on the Mugurza serve.

But the Spaniard showed no nerves to win four consecutiv­e points to bring it back to 5-5.

It proved the pivotal game because the younger woman was never in trouble again.

She broke Venus’s serve in the next game and served out the first set at 7-5.

Muguruza broke again in the first game of the second set, held for 2- 0 and broke once more to give herself clear daylight.

A sensationa­l cross-court pass ensured she didn’t squander her advantage in the next game.

When Venus lost her next service game without scoring a point you got the impression she couldn’t get off Centre Court quickly enough.

Maguruza cruised to three Championsh­ip points in game number six and to her credit Venus saved two.

But then the Spaniard challenged the point that would have brought the game back to deuce, Hawkeye agreed with her and Muguruza sank to her knees.

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