Revitalized Venus rolls back years

LONDON - All these years later, Wimbledon still brings out the best in Venus Williams.

With her latest display of gutsy serving and big hitting, Williams beat Johanna Konta 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday to reach her ninth final at the All England Club and first since 2009.

At 37, Williams is the oldest Wimbledon finalist since Martina Navratilova was the 1994 runner-up at that age.

Williams also stopped Konta's bid to become the first British woman in 40 years to win the tournament.

"I couldn't have asked for more, but I'll ask for a little more. One more win would be amazing," Williams said. "It won't be a given, but I'm going to give it my all."

She will be seeking her sixth Wimbledon championship and eighth Grand Slam singles trophy overall. Her most recent came in 2008, when she defeated her younger sister, Serena, for the title in southwest London. A year later, she lost the final to Serena.

In the time since, Williams revealed that she was diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome, which can sap energy and cause joint pain.

There were questions about whether she might retire, especially after a half-dozen first-round losses at major tournaments. But she kept on going, and lately has returned to winning.

Her resurgence began in earnest at Wimbledon a year ago, when she made it to the semifinals. Then, at the Australian Open in January, Williams reached the final, where she lost to her sister. Serena is off the tour for the remainder of this year because she is pregnant.

"I missed her so much before this match. And I was like, 'I just wish she was here.' And I was like, 'I wish she could do this for me,'" Venus said with a laugh. "And I was like, 'No, this time you have to do it for yourself.' So here we are."

On Saturday, the 10th-seeded American will participate in her second Grand Slam final of the season, and 16th of her career, this time against 14th-seeded Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, the 2015 Wimbledon runner-up and 2016 French Open champion.

"She knows how to play, especially Wimbledon finals," Muguruza said about Williams. "It's going to be, like, a historic final again."

Muguruza overwhelmed 87th-ranked Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 6-1, 6-1 in the first semifinal on Thursday.

Williams arrived in England a few weeks after being involved in a two-car accident in Florida; not long afterward, a passenger in the other vehicle died. At her initial news conference at Wimbledon, a tearful Williams briefly left the room to compose herself after being asked about the crash.

She has tried, coach David Witt said, to "just focus on the tennis".

In Thursday's second semifinal, Konta had the first chance to nose ahead - a point from serving from the opening set when it was 4-4 and Williams was serving and down 15-40.

Williams erased the first break point with a backhand winner down the line, and the second with a 106 mph (171 kph) second serve that went right at Konta's body.

It was a risky strategy, going for so much pace on a second serve, but it worked. That opened a run in which Williams won 12 of 13 points.

"She looks to dictate from the very first ball," Konta said. "When she puts herself in a position to do that, she plays with a lot of depth, a lot of speed, and you don't get much of a chance to get your, I guess, grip into the points."

Williams wouldn't face another break point and, in the second set, produced another impressive second serve - at 103 mph (166 kph), it went right at Konta, who jumped out of the way.

Konta played well, especially early on, and finished with more winners, 20 to 19, each greeted by roars from the Centre Court crowd.

"They could have really been even more boisterous. I thought the crowd was so fair. And I know that they love Jo, and she gave it her all today," Williams said.

"It's a lot of pressure. I thought she handled it well. I think my experience just helped a lot."

This was her 10th semifinal in 20 Wimbledon appearances; Konta had never been past the second round at the grass-court tournament before this year.

Associated Press