“In my opinion, there are more and more players understanding how to play her”. Victory on Saturday will again give her custody of all four grand slam titles – she achieved that “Serena slam” back in 2003 – and her place in tennis history is already more than secure.
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Muguruza said she would play aggressively from the start.
Serena’s sixth Wimbledon crown brought with it a slew of other remarkable landmarks that underline her credentials as one of the greatest female athletes of all time.
Sharapova had not beaten Williams since 2004, the year of her Wimbledon triumph over the American, and she was unable to prevent a 17th straight defeat.
Williams is now on to her 25th grand slam final since winning her first major trophy at the 1999 US Open.
“Now I’m feeling that all my effort, all the work that I did before, it’s like paying off”, said Muguruza who couldn’t recall who won the match she dreamt about.
To do that, Williams will have to deal with a rising young star in Garbine Muguruza. A backhand from Muguruza landed near the baseline, and after Radwanska hit the ball, she stopped playing and lifted her racket to indicate she wanted to challenge the call – at the same time that Muguruza was missing a forehand. “Some losses you are raging about and some you learn from. But the score doesn’t matter – I’m going to be really happy and proud”.
“I enjoyed it a lot”.
When a reporter made a passing reference to such milestones after a fourth-round victory over older sister Venus on Monday, Williams rested her chin on her left hand and declared: “I no longer answer questions about Grand Slams”.
She did beat Serena in the French Open past year, but this is on grass and Serena is playing at a very high level.
The 21-year-old told her Venezuelan mother Scarlet and Spanish father Jose Antonio to stay away from her semi-final, where she won 6-2 3-6 6-3 on Thursday against Agnieszka Radwanska.
“It wasn’t easy out there, but when she stepped up her game I was able to step up mine”.
The only thing that could stop her – or the only person that could stop her – is Muguruza, who until last year’s upset win over Williams at Roland Garros was relatively unknown even in the tennis world. A similar letdown against Williams and she likely won’t escape. I think if you put Steffi or Martina or Billie Jean or myself or anyone with a champion’s mind in the game today, I think we could still do well. “But I think I have to believe I can do it”.
And the Spanish Fed Cup player has vowed to savour the occasion, win or lose, against an opponent she said was “an inspiration” during her childhood.
Muguruza thrashed Williams 6-2 6-2 in the second round at the 2014 French Open, to spark a period of soul searching that led the American to compose her current winning streak.
“It’s what I’ve worked for”, she said.
“My parents, they’re going to be in Barcelona watching me on the TV. When you speak about it every single time, you cannot help but assume about it”, Williams mentioned.
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There had been a fluctuating narrative to the match, the fifth between the pair and a third in succession that Muguruza has now won, after two previous losses.
