Venus Williams advances to Wimbledon final
37-year-old seeks her sixth title there
The one subject Venus Williams hasn’t wanted to address at Wimbledon this year is her age.
It’s not that she isn’t aware that she’s 37 years old, but in her mind she’s choosing to see it as 37 years young. The fact that this year at Wimbledon she has played a number of opponents who weren’t born yet — or were less than a month old — when Williams played here for the first time 20 years ago is just not relevant.
Who could counter that argument now that 10th-seeded Williams is into the final after an exquisite 73-minute display of power and athleticism in posting a 6-4, 6-2 semifinal win against crowd favorite Johanna Konta of Britain on Thursday.
Williams will be aiming for her sixth career Wimbledon title and eighth Grand Slam tournament crown when she faces 14thseeded Garbine Muguruza of Spain on Saturday. Muguruza pummeled 87th-ranked Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 6-1, 6-1 in 65 minutes in the other semifinal.
This will be their first meeting at a Grand Slam, and Williams holds a 3-1 advantage. Muguruza, however, won their most recent match in the Rome quarterfinals this year, but that three-setter took place on clay.
The hope that questions revolving around her longevity in the game would go away just doesn’t seem to be working out for Williams. So after her quest for a final berth was realized,
she offered answers that were related, in a fashion, to her age.
“Obviously, you can play this game for a while if you love it, you put in the work and stay healthy,” she said.
“I’ve played some good tennis in different points in my life. I think it’s wonderful to have the opportunity to play well and to be strong and have experience. So I think experience can either work against you or for you. I like to think it’s working for me.”
Williams talked about how she has managed to deal with having the autoimmune disease Sjogren’s syndrome, diagnosed in 2011, and get back to playing top-flight tennis. This is her second Grand Slam final of the year — she lost to younger sister Serena in the Australian Open championship match in January.
“I had a lot of issues,” Venus Williams said. “This year has been amazing in terms of my play, playing deep into the big events actual- ly. Of course, I’m excited about being in another final. Try to take it a step further.”
Williams was even willing to remember the first time she played here, a three-set, first-round loss to Magdalena Grzybowska of Poland in 1997.
“I think I was so nervous in my first match here, it was a total disaster,” she said. “Poor young V. But definitely come up since that time. I don’t think I could ever be that nervous. Also, I know how to handle it a lot better. There’s moments where maybe you aren’t as relaxed as other moments, but it’s about handling it.”
Williams has had a winning strategy throughout this Wimbledon. It’s to follow Serena’s approach to the game, which delivered 23 Grand Slam singles titles.
Although Serena isn’t at Wimbledon this year — she’s pregnant and not playing — the two keep in touch. And knowing that Serena beat Muguruza when the latter made her first Grand Slam final appearance at Wimbledon in 2015, they’ll be chatting about strategy for Saturday. Muguruza won her next Grand Slam final appearance at the 2016 French Open.
“I’m sure she’s going to give me, hopefully, some things that will make a difference for me in the match,” Venus said of Serena’s upcoming advice.
“I miss her so much. Even more yesterday and today. I try to take the same courage on the court that she would have. I did think of that. I tried to do the things she would do.
“I don’t know that I play exactly the same way she does. But I really tried to be inspired by it.”
For now, Venus Williams, at 37 years, 29 days, is the oldest player to advance to the Wimbledon final since Martina Navratilova, who was 37 years, 258 days in the 1994 final. Interestingly, Navratilova lost to Spaniard Conchita Martinez, who is coaching Muguruza during these two weeks.
If Williams wins a sixth Wimbledon trophy, she will become the oldest woman to win a Grand Slam singles title in the Open era. That feat would knock Serena from that record, which she secured in January in winning the Australian Open at 35.
“For me, it’s just about betting on myself every time,” Venus said. “When I look across the net, I don’t think it is the right mentality to believe in that person more than me.”