This will be a historic weekend at The Championships. Two of the greatest Wimbledon champions of all-time are defying Father Time and playing spectacular tennis reminiscent of yesteryear. Their opponents pose significant challenges as these future Hall of Famers try to regain their crowns. Both opponents have won a major before, and have rediscovered the form that brought them to those titles. The table is set for a weekend of appetizing matchups in the Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Championships
Venus Williams vs. Garbine Muguruza
Venus Williams returns to the Wimbledon final for the first time in eight years, on the heels of reaching the Australian Open final back in January. She is the oldest finalist at Wimbledon since Martina Navratilova 23 years ago. On that day, Navratilova was upset by Conchita Martinez, who coincidentally started working with Muguruza just a few weeks ago.
Out of the eight losses Venus has suffered in major finals during her 20-year career, seven of those came at the hands of her sister Serena. The only time Venus has lost a major final to anyone without the last name of Williams was 20 years ago in her first-ever major final against Martina Hingis at the 1997 U.S. Open. That’s an imposing statistic if you’re Muguruza, but Garbine is not a player who shrinks on the big stage against big-name opponents. She’s twice beaten Venus’ sisters at Roland Garros, including in the final. She also played well in her previous Wimbledon final, also against Serena. Muguruza has found her swagger again in this tournament, and her level has risen with every match. In Thursday’s semifinals, she dropped only two games in dismantling Magdalena Rybarikova. Meanwhile Venus has also looked better and better with every passing round in this fortnight.
Her form reminds me of a decade ago, when each year Venus became a more inspired and dominant player on the lawns of the All England Club. Her grass court movement remains excellent, and she’s striking the ball with such authority. Both players arrive at this final with so much momentum, but something has to give on Saturday. Venus leads their head-to-head 3-1, though they have never played on grass, or played on an occasion anywhere near this important. It’s hard to pick a winner in this one: it feels like this will be a tight match that could go either way. The outcome will depend upon which player can dictate play. The 37-year-old Venus Williams will know all too well this will likely be the best chance she will ever have to win another major, which would be her first in nine years. If she is able to draw motivation from that rather than anxiety, she will have the advantage. This highly-anticipated final will be fascinating and emotional – and if both players maintain their recent form, it could be the best Ladies’ Championship match at SW19 in a long time.
