Venus Williams defies age

LONDON. — Venus Williams became the oldest Wimbledon tennis semi-finalist for 23 years as the five-time champion brushed aside French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko, while Garbine Muguruza powered past Svetlana Kuznetsova to make it back to the last four yesterday.

Muguruza powered into her second Wimbledon semi-final in the last three years with an emphatic 6-3, 6-4 win over Russian seventh seed Kuznetsova.

Williams’ 73-minute masterclass on Centre Court clinched a 6-3, 7-5 victory that made her the most senior player to reach the semi-finals since Martina Navratilova in 1994.

The American star, who reached the last of her eight Wimbledon finals in 2009, faces Britain’s Johanna Konta or Romania’s Simona Halep in the last four tomorrow.

World number 11 Williams, beaten in this year’s Australian Open final, was knocked out in the 2016 semi-finals and is chasing a first major title since winning Wimbledon in 2008.

Williams’ victory equalled her sister Serena’s total of 86 main draw match victories at Wimbledon, the most among any active player.

She will climb back into the top 10 thanks to her Wimbledon run, but breaking Serena’s record to become the tournament’s oldest champion in the Open era is her sole focus.

Twenty years after making her Wimbledon debut, Venus was playing in her 100th singles match at the All England Club, while Ostapenko was in only her eighth.

That gulf in experience was immediately apparent when Venus broke in the second game and cruised through the first set in serene fashion.— AFP.