Garbine Muguruza struck another blow for the younger generation of women’s tennis as she added the Wimbledon title to last year’s French Open crown with what turned out to be an emphatic victory against the 37-year-old Venus Williams. The Spaniard had been denied the Wimbledon title by Williams’ younger sister Serena in the 2015 Wimbledon final but she exacted revenge on America’s first tennis family with a 7-5 6-0 win. The 14th seed earned £2.2m as the new All- England Club champion.
Williams, who six years ago was diagnosed with the debilitating autoimmune disease Sjogren’s syndrome, simply ran out of both stamina and fight. But the player who ended British hopes by beating Johanna Konta in the semi-finals refused to make any excuses and said of 23-year-old Muguruza: “She played top tennis, so I have to give her credit for just playing a better match.”
Williams refused to even contemplate the possibility of retirement and insisted: “I’ve been in a position a lot of times this year to contend for big titles. That’s the kind of position I want to keep putting myself in. It’s just about getting over the line. I believe I can do that. I’ve had a great two weeks and now I’m looking forward to the rest of the summer.”
Muguruza dropped only one set in her seven-match run to the final and had her serve broken just four times during the fortnight. She punished Williams throughout the 1hr 17min final with a succession of forceful body serves. “I was so excited to go out there and win, especially over somebody like a role model,” the Spanish player said of her victory. “Since I lost the final here [two years ago] I wanted to change that fact and I came thinking, ‘I’m prepared, I feel good.’
“Although I lost that final, I knew I was close. I didn’t want to lose this time because I really know the difference. And now I’m so happy that my name is up there now on the board that has all the winners’ names.”
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Muguruza believes her game slipped into gear with the fourth-round victory over the now deposed world No 1 Angelique Kerber and added: “I just kept fighting all the way.”
Favourite Roger Federer plays Marin Cilic in the men’s final today seeking his eighth Wimbledon title.