LONDON, July 16: As a kid, Garbine Muguruza sat in awe in front of the TV as the Williams sisters accumulated Grand Slam titles. They were her role models.

Now Muguruza is all grown up, an emerging tennis star in her own right — and, as of Saturday, the only woman who can boast of beating each Williams in a major final.

Muguruza powered her way to her first Wimbledon championship by playing fearlessly and dominating down the stretch, putting together a 7-5, 6-0 victory over a fading Venus Williams by claiming the final’s last nine games.

“It’s great to go out there and play somebody that you admire,” Muguruza said. “I knew she was going to make me suffer and fight for it.”

This was Williams’ 16th Grand Slam final and ninth at the All England Club. At 37, she was bidding for her sixth title at the grass-court major, 17 years after her first. And she was so close to gaining the upper hand against Muguruza, holding two set points at 5-4 in the opener. But Muguruza fought those off and never looked back.

“She competed really well. So credit to her,” Williams said. “She just dug in there.”

For Muguruza, this final was her third at a major.

In her first, at Wimbledon in 2015, she lost to Williams’ younger sister, Serena. But in her second, at the French Open last year, Muguruza again faced Serena — and won. That was the most recent final Muguruza had played in at any tournament until Saturday, an indication of the sort of up-and-down 12 months she’s had.

But with stand-in coach Conchita Martinez pushing her to play each point on its own merits — don’t look back, don’t think ahead — Muguruza was able to regain her best form these two weeks. Taking the ball early, being aggressive from the start of each point and not relenting, Muguruza did to Williams what the American and her sibling often do to their opponents.

Here was how Muguruza’s on-court approach was described by Spanish Fed Cup and Davis Cup captain Martinez, whose 1994 Wimbledon title was the country’s most recent for a woman until Saturday: “She’s very brave.”

Especially against Williams.

Especially in crunch time.

“I was just very composed,” the 23-year-old Muguruza said. “Once I go to the big court, I feel good. I feel like that’s where I want to be, that’s what I practice for. That’s where I play good. … I’m happy to go to the Centre Court and to play the best player. That’s what motivates me.”

With the roof shut because of rain earlier in the day, each thwack of racket strings against ball by the two big hitters created echoes around the old arena.

Williams began the proceedings with an ace. But Muguruza showed she would not be overwhelmed, returning a serve at 113 mph (182 kph) on the match’s second point, and another at 114 mph (184 kph) in the third game — then winning both ensuing exchanges.

Still, Williams was so close to taking the first set, ahead 5-4 while Muguruza served at 15-40. On the first chance, a 20-stroke point ended when Williams blinked first, putting a forehand into the net. On the second set point, Williams sent a return long.

It was as if getting out of that jam freed up Muguruza — and failing to capitalize deflated Williams, who didn’t win a game the rest of the way.

“She was getting every one of Venus’s shots back. Not only getting it back, but it was deep in the court,” said David Witt, Williams’ coach, who thought nerves affected his player. “Venus kept having to play that one extra ball.”

Williams began spraying shots to unintended spots, while Muguruza stayed steady. Williams finished with 25 unforced errors, 14 more than the champion.

It ended when Williams hit a shot that landed long, but was ruled in. Muguruza challenged the call, and after a bit of a delay, the review showed the ball was, indeed, out. Made to wait to celebrate, Muguruza eventually dropped her knees and covered her crying eyes.

Soon enough, Muguruza was shown her name on the list of winners in the stadium’s lobby — “Finally!” she said — and being greeted by former King Juan Carlos of Spain.

It was an anticlimactic conclusion to the fortnight for Williams, Wimbledon’s oldest female finalist since Martina Navratilova, 37, was the runner-up to Martinez in 1994. Williams hadn’t made it this far at the All England Club since 2009, hadn’t won the title since 2008.

“A lot of beautiful moments in the last couple of weeks,” the American said.

Muguruza can say the same, of course, and she was particularly thrilled at the thought of the player she beat to earn the trophy.

“When I knew I was playing Venus in the final, I was actually looking forward (to) it,” Muguruza said. “Something incredible.”-AP

LONDON, July 14: 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 title match 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 woman from Britain in 40 years to win the country’s Grand Slam 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 at the All England Club. A year later, she lost the final to Serena.

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 — yes, you guessed it — her sister. Serena is off the tour for the rest 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,’” Williams 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 Garbine Muguruza of Spain.

“She knows how to play, especially Wimbledon finals,” Muguruza, the 2015 Wimbledon runner-up and 2016 French Open champion, 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 earlier semifinal.

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 the semifinals, it was Konta who had the first chance to nose ahead, a point from serving from the opening set when it was 4-all and Williams was serving 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, later, produced another impressive second serve — in the second set, at 103 mph (166 kph), it went right at Konta, who jumped out of the way.

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

“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. 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.

In the other semifinal, Muguruza won 15 of the first 20 points en route to a 5-0 lead. Even though Rybarikova entered having won 18 of her past 19 grass-court matches, mostly at lower-level tournaments, she suddenly looked a lot more like someone whose career record at Wimbledon before last week was 2-9.

“Not my best day,” Rybarikova said. “But she didn’t give me much chance to do something.”

Muguruza won the point on 19 of 25 trips to the net and had a 22-8 edge in winners.

That earned the 23-year-old Muguruza a berth in her third career Grand Slam final, second at the All England Club. She lost to Serena Williams with the title on the line at Wimbledon in 2015, then beat her at Roland Garros last year.

“I’ll have to ask Serena for some pointers,” Venus Williams said. “Serena’s always in my corner. And usually it’s her in these finals, so I’m trying my best to represent ‘Williams’ as best as I can.”-AP

LONDON, July 12: Venus Williams’ mother could not stop smiling and laughing. She had just watched her 37-year-old daughter reach the Wimbledon semifinals for the 10th time and, well, the whole thing was just a bit hard to believe.

“She says, ‘I love my job!’ and she means it. I guess she’s kind of like a boxer: People think it’s time for her to quit because she’s too old,” Oracene Price said after leaving Centre Court, where the roof was shut because of rain Tuesday. “But she keeps getting back in the ring — and she seems to be doing pretty well. This is really amazing.”

Enjoying a career renaissance deep into her 30s, despite dealing with an energy-sapping disease, Williams rode a strong serve that produced eight aces, imposing returns and her court coverage of old to a 6-3, 7-5 victory over French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, edging closer to a sixth singles title at the All England Club.

“The competition keeps you growing,” Williams said. “You have to get better if you want to stay relevant.”

Somehow, at age 37, she’s done that. This was her 100th Wimbledon match, coming in her 20th appearance. The first of her trophies at the grass-court tournament came in 2000. And now, for the third match in a row, Williams beat a player who was born in 1997 — after she made her Grand Slam debut that year.

“The first one was 20 years ago? Lord,” Price said, her eyes wide, her chuckle loud. “Well, you know, that’s a long time.”

This is not exactly new, though. Williams is the only woman to have made the fourth round at each of the past six majors, and now she’s into her third semifinal in that span. She made it that far at Wimbledon last year, too, before losing, and got to the final at the Australian Open in January, when she was beaten by her younger sister, Serena.

“Who knows if she’s lost a step?” said Williams’ coach, David Witt. “She looks pretty good to me.”

Williams revealed in 2011 that she was diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, which can sap energy and cause joint pain. As time went on, there were questions about whether she might retire, especially after a half-dozen first-round losses at majors. But she kept going, and with her recent successes, a championship this week would return the American to the top five in the rankings for the first time in six years.

“I just always felt like I have to keep trying,” said Williams, who repeatedly took advantage of Ostapenko’s second serves at around 70 mph (110 kph). “That’s all I felt like.”

To get to what would be her ninth final at the All England Club, the 10th-seeded Williams will need to win Thursday against No. 6 Johanna Konta, the first British woman in the Wimbledon semifinals since Virginia Wade was the runner-up in 1978.

“I definitely feel that age is not a factor with her,” Konta said about Williams. “She’s just a tremendous champion, and I feel very, very humbled, and I’m very excited to share the court with her again.”

With Wade, the 1977 champion, sitting in the Royal Box, Konta prevented Halep from rising to No. 1 by beating her 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-4. The result means that Karolina Pliskova, who lost in the second round, will replace Angelique Kerber, who departed in the fourth, atop the rankings next week.

The other semifinal will be Garbine Muguruza of Spain against 87th-ranked Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia. Muguruza, the 2015 Wimbledon runner-up and 2016 French Open champion, defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-4. Rybarikova, the lowest-ranked Wimbledon semifinalist since 2008, got past 24th-seeded CoCo Vandeweghe of the U.S. 6-3, 6-3 in a match suspended at 2-all in the second set because of showers and moved from Court No. 1 to Centre Court so it could be finished indoors.

Rybarikova had never been past the third round in her 35 previous career majors, including seven opening-round exits in a row at Wimbledon from 2008-14. She missed the second half of last season after wrist and knee operations, and her ranking fell out of the top 400.

“I had a really tough time,” Rybarikova said, “and right now, I’m here, and everything paid off.”

In the last men’s fourth-round match, Novak Djokovic took a medical timeout to have his right shoulder massaged, and he declared himself disappointed with the condition of the turf in the main stadium. Otherwise, Djokovic had little trouble eliminating 51st-ranked Adrian Mannarino of France 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in a match postponed Monday night because of darkness.

“It’s been something that I’ve been dragging back and forth for a while now,” Djokovic said about his shoulder. “But I’m still managing to play, which is the most important thing.”

The men’s quarterfinals Wednesday: Djokovic against Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer against Milos Raonic, defending champion Andy Murray against Sam Querrey, and Marin Cilic against Gilles Muller, who stunned Rafael Nadal in a marathon that ended 15-13 in the fifth set Monday.

LONDON, July 8: There may be doubts over Andy Murray’s fitness and questions about his form but the top seed showed in his Wimbledon tussle with Italian Fabio Fognini that his status as one of tennis’s most determined and dogged scrappers is indisputable.

The world number one and defending champion was far from his best against the 29th-ranked Fognini, but still booked a fourth- round spot with a rip-roaring 6-2 4-6 6-1 7-5 win on Friday.

Murray saved five break points in the fourth set, before winning five successive games to prevent himself being dragged into an energy-sapping decider that would have put further strain on the niggling hip injury he has been nursing.

“I didn’t feel like I played my best tennis,” Murray told reporters. “But I won and I got through it. You know, that’s a really positive thing.”

It is the 10th successive year Murray has reached the last 16 at Wimbledon and he had never lost at this stage to somebody ranked as low as Fognini.

Yet, with the Italian showman having beaten Murray in three of their six previous outings, this was never going to be easy for the Briton and so it proved in an encounter where the momentum swung dramatically from one player to the other.

Naomi Osaka wasn’t even born when Venus Williams made her debut at the All England Club, but it was the 37-year-old who triumphed on Friday to book her place in the last 16 at Wimbledon.

It was by no means easy though for five-times Wimbledon winner Williams to turn that 20 years of experience on the grass at SW19 into a win against the 59th ranked 19-year-old.

The 7-6(3) 6-4 result does not truly reflect the powerful attacking and spectacular winners from Osaka, who did enough in this encounter to suggest that longer runs at Wimbledon could be in her future.

Indeed, despite her tender age, Osaka, whose mother is Japanese and father Haitian, has reached the third round in each of the Grand Slams.

After fighting back from 4-1 down in the opening set, Osaka could easily have won it – she was 3-0 up in the tie-break before Venus, showing her characteristic grit and calm, took the next seven points.

It was tight in the second until Venus took advantage of some wayward shots from Osaka to grab a break in the seventh and she held firm to secure a place against Croatian Ana Konjuh in the fourth round.-AGENCIES