Venus defies age to reach Wimbledon final
Venus Williams became the oldest women’s player to reach Wimbledon final in 23 years after beating Johanna Konta 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinal on Thursday.
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The 37-year-old Williams, who is a five-time Wimbledon title winner, reached the final after an eight year absence. She will become the oldest Grand Slam champion in the Open era if she beats Garbine Muguruza on Saturday.
Given her form over the past 12 months, Williams’ remarkable run at Wimbledon is hardly surprising. She started the year strongly, finishing runner-up to sister Serena at the Australian Open.
Williams feels she is close to her past dominant form. “I’ve played some good tennis in different points of my life. I think it’s wonderful to have the opportunity to play well and to be strong,” she said.
“Experience can either work against you or for you. I like to think it's working for me,” she said.
Williams will face a sterner test in the final against the 2016 French Open champion Garbine Muguruza, who demolished Magdalena Rybarikova 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinal.
The 23-year-old, who is in her second Wimbledon final in three years, was beaten by Serena Williams in the 2015 title match.
“I played very well for sure. Today I stepped on court super confident and everything went well,” the 14th seeded said.
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