Williams Maintains Dominance Over Sharapova

“Maria played well and when she stepped up, I managed to step up”.

(AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin). Garbine Muguruza of Spain celebrates after defeating Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland during their women’s singles semifinal match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Thursday July 9, 2015.

It creates the possibility of there being a repeat of what occurred after the 2004 final, when Maria Sharapova beat Williams and went straight to her bag to pick out her mobile phone in an attempt – a vain attempt as it happened – to call mother Yelena and share the moment.

Radwanska, the runner-up to five-time Wimbledon champion Williams in 2012, used a six-game run to make things close against the hard-hitting Muguruza. The Swiss master is yet to drop a set in this year’s tournament and seems to be getting better but Murray will have enthusiastic home support as he chases a second Wimbledon title.

But Williams need only recall her shock loss against Muguruza at last year’s French Open to ensure she guards against complacency. The women’s Wimbledon finals is Saturday. The American World No. 1 is in pursuit of her 21st grand slam trophy. Radwanska had already hit a forehand return, and only challenged after her ball had bounced on the other side of the net and Muguruza lined up her next shot.

Said Williams: “It’s definitely not an easy match-up”. She also is bidding for the third leg of a calendar-year Grand Slam, a feat last accomplished by Steffi Graf in 1988.

The World no. 1 didn’t waste time in the first set, taking advantage over Sharapova’s weak second serve and overpowering her from the baseline.

“But, you know, it’s what I’ve worked for. No, you’re not going to see that from me”, she said as reported by The Guardian.

However, rather than dwell on those legacy-defining possibilities, Williams made it clear that the only reason she is in such a privileged position is because she no longer frets about her place among the pantheon of tennis greats.

What she said: “I’m really excited”, Williams said on the BBC after the match. (Williams has won the last seven Grand Slam finals she’s played, and is 20-4 in Slam finals over her career.) But Muguruza is much improved on grass – and has the all-around game and, importantly, the movement to compete if she isn’t waylaid by Williams’ serving genius. She’s the toughest player. “”I know what I have to do””, she said.

“I don’t need any titles to make it. I’m not as desperate to win anymore”. Williams was happy with her performance – so rare early at a grand slam – as she crushed Babos with relative ease.

Muguruza, now 21, took some time Friday to reveal some things about her personal life, saying she likes to cook, listen to her music on shuffle and watch movies at home while spending off-time with her family.

That’s because that match should move quickly, provide good shotmaking and allow them to get on with the show, with the next players on court a pairing to drive the British crowd to an emotional crossroads. She’s head and shoulders above her competition because of her power and movement.