Twenty years after her Wimbledon debut, Venus Williams will go in search of a sixth crown on Saturday after ending Johanna Konta’s dream of a home Grand Slam title with a 6-4, 6-2 semifinal win Thursday.
Williams’ speed and agility may not be as good as when she made her main draw debut in 1997 but her fierce competitiveness remains, as does her immense power.
And that was evident throughout her victory on Centre Court, with the 37-year-old booking a second Grand Slam final of the year in just 73 minutes — having already reached the showpiece of the Australian Open.
Her vast experience has given her plenty of weapons to unsettle her opponents and she deployed them perfectly to unsettle Konta’s rhythm — particularly on her previously solid serve. The sixth seed had served more aces than anyone else prior to the semifinal but Williams chose to step in from the baseline and that seemed to unnerve Konta.
While Konta struggled under the immense pressure, Williams thrived as winner after winner came from her racket, piercing forehands particularly successful for the 10th seed.
On the one occasion Williams’ serve was put under pressure she executed a sensational 106 mph serve to hold, and then used the momentum to break her opponent.
When she repeated the feat in the fourth game of the second the final moved into view, Williams unrelenting as she broke Konta again to see out for the match, proving she remains more than a match for anyone — particularly on grass.
She now enters a ninth final at Wimbledon and will become the oldest women’s Grand Slam champion in 109 years if she can beat Garbine Muguruza this weekend. Muguruza, the 14th seed and 2016 French Open champion, routed Madalena Rybarikova 6-1, 6-1 in the other semifinal.
