Serena Williams’ Finals Opponent Crushed Her previous year

Williams bludgeoned mercilessly past Maria Sharapova 6-2 6-4 to book her eighth Wimbledon final appearance, claiming her 17th consecutive victory over the Russian who she loves to beat.

“I think she played really well and when she stepped up her game I was able to step up mine as well”, Williams said after the match, reports Yahoo Sports. “Now I’m feeling that all my effort, all the work that I did before, is paying off”.

Heres the one element that might give Muguruza a hint of hope: In the French Opens second round previous year, she stunned Williams 6-2, 6-2, the most lopsided loss in Williams 318-match Grand Slam career. The Spanish men, led by Rafael Nadal, have no such drought. Sanchez Vicario lost in the ’95 and ’96 finals.

After 126 matches, numerous upsets and few surprises, the women’s draw at Wimbledon will climax with Serena Williams attempting to become the first woman since herself in 2002-3 to hold all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously. Williams pocketed $11 million in prize money with her dominant on-court play and $11 million in endorsements.

“Some losses you’re raging about and some losses you learn from”, said Williams.

“Obviously”, Djokovic said, “the experience of being in these final stages of Wimbledon many times is going to help me”.

“I keep reinventing myself, always try to improve something or get better”, she admitted. It would be Williams’ 21st major win and her sixth Wimbledon win.

Dropping serve from 30-0 in the first game wasn’t in the script for Sharapova and she soon fell 4-1 behind.

The Spanish-Venezuelan Muguruza is an excellent player – and at Roland Garros she caught Williams in one of her rare sub-par moments at a Grand Slam. Sharapova last defeated Williams at the year-end championships in 2004 and has dropped the past 14 sets.

She didn’t face a break point. If she couldn’t serve well, and couldn’t stay with Williams once the ball was in play, Sharapova was in trouble. Post shoulder surgery in 2008, the serve hasn’t been the same. Williams has beaten Muguruza once since that day on clay in Paris, eliminating the Spaniard from the fourth round at this year’s Australian Open.

Williams must win Wimbledon then defend her US Open crown to complete her first calendar slam – but claims “it’s not as stressful” since matching Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert’s 18 major titles.

Muguruza has a promising future.

Reminded that Heather Watson had a poster of Serena on her bedroom wall when growing up and had given the American plenty to think about over three sets, Muguruza said she too held her up as the player to admire.

Her 35 wins and one defeat this year illustrate what a daunting task lies ahead for Muguruza, but the undoubted underdog is also full of confidence as she enjoys a dramatic upturn in form on grass.

The top-seeded American won the first set 6-2 against Maria Sharapova on Thursday, pushing her ever closer to a calendar-year Grand Slam.

The pressure apparently didn’t get to Muguruza.

The start of the second set didn’t offer much hope for Radwanska, as she quickly fell into a two-game hole. Her run to the Wimbledon final shows that she might just be the best of the younger generation, but I don’t think she’s quite ready to win a slam yet.

“But I wish her luck”.

The 20-time major victor has banned all such talk, but she views that 2014 Paris loss to Muguruza as crucial to her revival. If she could rediscover her form, Radwanska would find it hard. She’s that good. Throughout the entire match, Williams didn’t surrender a single break-point opportunity.

This was Williams’ first scare, and it came in a big way.