At 37, Venus Williams has experience on her side going into Wimbledon final
WIMBLEDON, England — The one subject that 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 this year at Wimbledon she’s played a number of opponents who weren’t born yet — or were less than a month old — when Williams played here the first time 20 years ago, is just not relevant.
And who could counter that argument now that the 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 over crowd favorite, Johanna Konta of Britain, on Thursday.
Williams will be hoping for a sixth career Wimbledon title and an eighth Grand Slam title, when she goes off against 14th-seeded 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.
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This will be their first meeting at a Grand Slam, and Williams holds a 3-1 advantage. Muguruza, however, won their last 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, Williams offered some 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’s managed to deal with having the autoimmune disease, Sjogren’s Syndrome, diagnosed in 2011, to where she’s back 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,” she acknowledged. “This year has been amazing in terms of my play, playing deep into the big events actually. Of course, I’m excited about being again 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 actually 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 over strategies 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,” said Venus, of Serena’s upcoming advice.
“I miss her so much,” she added. “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 old in the 1994 final. Interestingly, Navratilova lost to Spaniard Conchita Martinez, who happens to be coaching Muguruza during these two weeks.
If Williams goes on to win 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 when winning the Australian Open at age 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.”