Hope Johanna, nope Johanna
GARBINE Muguruza is aiming to become the first Spanish woman for 23 years to win Wimbledon – and yet again a Williams sister stands in her way.
The 23-year-old stormed into the final by beating Magdalena Rybarikova yesterday. Only one Spaniard has previously lifted the Wimbledon women’s title – Conchita Martinez, who has been coaching Muguruza at this tournament.
It will be Muguruza’s second Wimbledon final. She will face five-time champion Venus Williams tomorrow, having been defeated in 2015 by Venus’ sister, Serena, a seven-time winner.
“I always stare at the wall where there are all the names of the previous winners. In the past years, you see the Williams surname a lot,” Muguruza said.
“So I look forward to putting a Spanish name back there.
“Facing Venus, you know, she won here like five times. She knows how to play, especially Wimbledon finals. It’s going to be a historic final again,” she said.
Muguruza, the 14th seed, said she felt far better mentally prepared for the final this time.
“I feel much more calm, am kind of controlling my emotions more than the last time,” said Muguruza, who won the French Open last year, saying that she was drawing on the experience of Martinez.
“She’s helping me to deal with the stress of the tournament,” she said. “She knows how to prepare, how to train, what to do.”
Meanwhile, Venus will be doing it for herself in the absence of little sister Serena as she rolled back the years to reach her first Wimbledon final since 2009 with a clinically executed 6-4, 6-2 victory over British hope Johanna Konta.
Konta was looking to become the first woman on home soil to reach the Wimbledon final since Virginia Wade in 1977, but she was picked off at crucial times by the 37-year-old Williams.
Williams, who claimed the last of her Wimbledon titles nine years ago, was too strong for her opponent from the baseline and was able to produce booming serves whenever the Briton threatened.
After initially going toe-totoe with the seven-time Grand Slam winner, Konta was unable to put Williams under sustained pressure and ended the contest a clear second best, losing eight of the final 10 games.
Konta saved two match points before Williams finally ended her resistance, smashing a forehand that flew past the Briton and left the American to twirl in celebration on Centre Court.
“I’ve played a lot of finals here. One more win will be amazing. It won’t be a given but I’ll give it my all,” Williams said. “The crowd were very nice to me. The crowd were so fair, I know they love Jo.”
Konta’s one chance to upset Williams came in the ninth game of the first set when the Briton crafted two break points, but Williams saved the first with a backhand winner and launched a 106mph second serve to level the score at deuce.
“She was just, quite frankly, better than me today ... I think I have a lot more to improve on...” Konta said.
“But I definitely feel like there’s no reason why I would not be able to be in a position to win a title like this one day.”
Fans calling her a role model was “humbling”, she said, and progressing to a second major semi-final – she also made the last four at the Australian Open in 2016 – put her in a better place to help raise the sport’s profile.
Told she would break into the world’s top five on Monday, she said: “I guess it’s a nice club to be a part of. Again, I’m looking to keep getting better.” – Reuters