{"id":34902,"date":"2017-07-15T08:59:51","date_gmt":"2017-07-15T08:59:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=34902"},"modified":"2017-07-15T08:59:51","modified_gmt":"2017-07-15T08:59:51","slug":"age-not-a-factor-for-venus-williams-as-she-prepapres-for-muguruza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=34902","title":{"rendered":"‘Age not a factor’ for Venus Williams as she prepapres for Muguruza"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"venus_muguruza\"Sports desk: Venus Williams could become the oldest woman to win a Grand Slam singles title in the Open era when she meets Garbine Muguruza in Saturday's Wimbledon final.<\/p>\n

The American, 37, will overtake sister Serena's record – set when she was 35 at the Australian Open in January – by winning her sixth SW19 title.<\/p>\n

“I don't think about my age,” Williams told BBC Sport. “It is not a factor.”<\/p>\n

Spain's Muguruza, 23, is aiming for her first Wimbledon triumph after losing to Serena in the 2015 final.<\/p>\n

“My mind is more equipped this time,” said the 2016 French Open champion.<\/p>\n

I love the big stage – Venus<\/strong><\/p>\n

Venus Williams dominated Wimbledon for almost a decade between 2000 and 2009, winning five titles and finishing runner-up three times.<\/p>\n

But the seven-time Grand Slam champion had become a peripheral figure after being diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome, an illness that causes fatigue and joint pain, in 2011.<\/p>\n

She says she refused to consider retirement, despite her world ranking plummeting to 103 by the end of 2011.<\/p>\n

Williams returned to the top 10 last year and reached her first Grand Slam final since 2009 when she lost to Serena in Melbourne earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Now, after beating Britain's Johanna Konta in the last four, she has another chance to win her first major title since Wimbledon in 2008.<\/p>\n

“I love the big stage,” she said. “There is a lot more pressure and it is about dealing with it.<\/p>\n

“There are only a handful of players each year who can push and deal with the pressure of playing your best against the best players.<\/p>\n

“I just love the game and I don't want this part of my life to end. It is not over until it is over.”<\/p>\n

Muguruza ‘helped' by Serena defeat<\/strong><\/p>\n

Muguruza, seeded 14th, has dropped down the rankings in recent months after struggling to sustain the form she showed to win last year's French Open.<\/p>\n

However, she has been impressive at Wimbledon under the guidance of temporary coach Conchita Martinez – the only Spanish woman to have won Wimbledon when she beat Martina Navratilova in 1994.<\/p>\n

Muguruza fought back from a set down to beat world number one Angelique Kerber in the last 16, and reached her second Wimbledon final by beating Magdalena Rybarikova in a one-sided semi-final.<\/p>\n

Now she has chance to make amends for that 6-4 6-4 defeat by Serena Williams with victory over her older sister.<\/p>\n

“The more experience you get, the more you know how to deal with these situations, because they're very special,” Muguruza said.<\/p>\n

“If you felt it before, it's really helpful. So I have more information about the situation.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sports desk: Venus Williams could become the oldest woman to win a Grand Slam singles title in the Open era when she meets Garbine Muguruza in Saturday’s Wimbledon final. The American, 37, will overtake sister Serena’s record – set when she was 35 at the Australian Open in January – by winning her sixth SW19 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":34903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n