Johanna Konta didn’t have the game to succeed onward at the Wimbledon Championships. Venus Williams had the best day on center court putting pressure on the number one Brit to reach the finals for the ninth time with a 6-4, 6-2 win at the All England Tennis Club. The American became the oldest player since Martina Navratilova did so in 1994.
The two superstars can’t stop running into each other during the 2017 WTA Tour as another moment has them at a critical career changing moment. With the tournament wide open since the round of 16, the world number seven had a great chance at creating history for Great Britain for the first time in 40 years. On the other end, the veteran and five time Wimbledon champion was one step from a chance at a sixth. Konta holds the series lead that led to a title in 2016 and her first WTA premier mandatory title back in early April. With one step before the ultimate final, the two would give it their all putting everything on the line.
Williams began her opening serve with an attempt at love but Konta denied her the ease of dictating early. The Brit responded with a strong hold in the second that began the pace of the set. They remained on serve up to the sixth game where the next moves were critical to the end result. Williams set the bar each time for Konta who answered the challenge and went for a chance in the ninth with a break chance.
Williams weathered through the trouble on serve and played for a shot at the set against the serve of the British star. She began to feel the pressure against the American who went up 40-0 before Konta began her dig into the game. She was stopped on a long ball during the rally that gave Williams the set after 38 minutes. The former number one had her serve percentage winning more than 75 percent of points.
Williams started the second set with another service hold keeping her game solidified while pressuring Konta to falter once more. She leveled in the second game with a hold of two game points but it was a downspin that the British number one would soon endure. Konta had two double faults that took their moments through the next three games giving Williams enough breathing room to be an unstoppable force. She battled in the sixth to keep the breaks going but Konta’s need for a hold was necessary to stay alive as the set closed in on a finish.
As the American reached 5-2, it put the world number seven in trouble to fall on serve as Williams attacked the second serve. Konta fought hard to force deuce and got into a tug of war for control. Critical errors handed Williams three match point attempts which was the charm in the end concluding 1 hour and 13 minutes. In what was her best success over Konta, the 37-year-old returned to the finals at Wimbledon for the first time since 2009 and would give it her all facing Garbine Muguruza on Saturday.
“I’ve played a lot of finals here,” said Williams after the match. “I couldn’t have asked for more and it would be amazing and I’ll give it my all. I thought the crowd was nice and were fair and loved Jo. She gave it her all today and there was a lot of pressure and she handled it well and my experience helped a lot.”
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