Even Garbine Muguruza finds the Venus Williams story inspirational, but says there’ll be no room for sentiment when the pair clash in Saturday night’s Wimbledon final.
At 37, Williams is bidding to become the oldest champion in more than a century after qualifying for her ninth final – eight years after her eighth and, incredibly, 20 years after debuting at The All England Club.
Muguruza, though, has her own unfinished business to tend to after tasting bitter defeat to Williams’ sister Serena in the title decider two years ago.
The statuesque Spaniard turned the tables on Serena in last year’s French Open final and is now intent on creating her own slice of history.
The 23-year-old can become the first player to topple both Williams siblings in grand slam finals.
“Definitely I want to win, for sure,” Muguruza said on Friday.
“It is very different to hold the trophy. When I achieved the final in 2015, and I won the French Open, I could feel the difference between winning a grand slam and not winning. I think it’s a huge difference.
“So I definitely want to be the one who takes the big one … try to change things after the last two years.”
But the world No.15 admits it’s impossible not to admire Williams’ extraordinary longevity, and resilience too to battle back from the debilitating Sjogrens Syndrome in 2011.
Muguruza was just six years old when Williams made her first Wimbledon final.
“It’s very impressive. I think not everybody can do that,” she said.
“It goes a lot also with the strength of your body, your style of game.
“For me, it’s incredible. I don’t think I could be 37 and playing that level.”
Should Williams prevail in the longest-ever wait between finals at The All England Club, the American would surpass Serena as the oldest women’s singles champion in the professional era – and the oldest since Charlotte Sterry in 1908.
The five-time champion planned to seek advice from her pregnant sister on ways to stop Muguruza in the hope of keeping the trophy in the family.
But the underdog is unperturbed, believing her 2015 finals defeat will help her too.
“I try not to change a lot of things because I think my game, if I have a good level, it’s very good to go out there and have a lot of chances to win,” Muguruza said.
“My mind is more equipped this time because the more experience you get, the more you know how to deal with these situations, because they’re very special.
“If you felt it before, it’s really helpful. That final that I did helped me a lot to figure it out a way to play better in grass because before I was, like, not very experienced. Never played a lot of tournaments.
“It was just a very surprising moment when you reach a final in a tournament where you thought it was going to be difficult.
“Right now I know how to play more on grass.”
