Venus Williams' long journey back to the top leads her to Wimbledon final

In 1997, when Venus Williams made her Wimbledon debut, a three-year-old girl in Venezuela picked up a tennis racket for the first time. Twenty years later Williams is still here, preparing to play in her ninth Wimbledon final. Her opponent on Centre Court on Saturday will be Garbine Muguruza, that same person who first learned to play the game alongside her brothers when they were growing up in Caracas.

Muguruza, who has a Venezuelan mother and a Spanish father but eventually opted to represent Spain after the family moved to Europe when she was six, has won only three titles in her life, though the world No 15 is clearly a player for the big occasion. One of those titles was last year’s French Open and this will be her second Wimbledon final following her defeat to Williams’ sister, Serena, two years ago.

The gulf in experience between Saturday’s finalists is huge. This will be Williams’ 16th Grand Slam singles final and her 82nd at tour level. Muguruza has won 14 of the 18 matches she has played at Wimbledon while Williams has won 87 out of 101, a total bettered only by Martina Navratilova (120 wins) and Chris Evert (96).

At the age of 37 years and 28 days Williams is attempting to become the oldest women’s champion here since Charlotte Sterry won in 1908 at the age of 37 years and 282 days.

What makes the American’s achievements all the more remarkable is the fact that she was diagnosed six years ago, at the age of 31, with Sjogren’s syndrome, an incurable auto-immune condition that causes fatigue and joint pain.

At the time it seemed highly likely that Williams’ days at the top would be over, but she never stopped hoping that she could extend her career. She changed her diet and her training regime and began a long journey back towards the heights she had scaled in winning five Wimbledons and two US Opens.

After reaching the last four of the US Open in 2010, Williams dropped out of the world’s top 100 the following year. She did not make another Grand Slam semi-final until last summer’s Wimbledon, where she lost to Angelique Kerber.

At the Australian Open seven months ago Williams played in her first Grand Slam final for eight years before losing to her sister. Now she will be playing in her first Wimbledon final since 2009. It is the first year since 2003 that she has reached more than one Grand Slam singles final in the same year.

“I had a lot of issues,” Williams said as she looked back at the hurdles she has overcome to get back to the top. “There have definitely been a lot of ups and downs. I just try to hold my head up high, no matter what is happening in life.

“In sport especially, you have injuries. You have illnesses. You’re not going to be always playing 100 per cent. If I decide to walk out on the court, I try to just compete that day. That’s what I try to do.”

She added: “This year has been amazing in terms of my play, playing deep into the big events actually. Of course, I'm excited about being in another final again. I’ll try to take it a step further.

Williams, who won the last of her five Wimbledon titles in 2008, lost in the first round to Poland’s Magdalena Grzybowska when she made her Wimbledon debut in 1997. The American is the only women’s singles player from that tournament who has been in the singles field here this year.

“I was so nervous in my first match here, it was a total disaster,” Williams recalled. “I don’t think I could ever be that nervous. I know how to handle it a lot better [now]. There are moments where maybe you aren’t as relaxed as other moments, but it’s about handling it.”

Williams said she had always believed in herself. “It’s just about betting on myself every time,” she said. “When I look across the net, I don’t think it’s the right mentality to believe in that person more than me. It doesn’t mean that I've won every time, but I’ve tried to give myself the best chance no matter what the circumstances were.”

open image in gallery

Muguruza, meanwhile, struggled in the wake of both her previous Grand Slam finals. After Wimbledon 2015 she played in only two more finals before winning last summer’s French Open. Saturday’s final will be her first anywhere since her Roland Garros triumph 13 months ago.

However, the 23-year-old Spaniard believes she has learned from both her previous Grand Slam finals. “That [Wimbledon] final helped me a lot to figure out how to play better on grass,” she said. “Before, I wasn’t very experienced. I had never played a lot of tournaments. It was just a very surprising moment to reach a final in a tournament where you thought it was going to be difficult.”

Asked how much she had changed as a player since winning last year’s French Open, Muguruza said: “I’m different, but not very different. It’s not a long time ago. I think my mind is more equipped this time because the more experience you get, the more you know how to deal with these situations, because they’re very special.”

Williams won her first three meetings with Muguruza, but lost the most recent, on clay in Rome two months ago. “I’ve never played her on grass, so that becomes definitely a different factor,” Williams said.

Muguruza said she would not be looking to change anything in her game when she faces Williams. “We played a few matches against each other,” she said. “I think we both know and feel how our games are.”

The Spaniard added: “I think we both have very aggressive games. I think the serve is going to be very important, because she has a pretty big serve. I try to have a big one as well.”

Sam Sumyk, Muguruza’s regular coach, did not come to Wimbledon because his wife is about to give birth. Muguruza is instead working with Conchita Martinez, who won Wimbledon in 1994, when the runner-up was Navratilova, who was aged 37 and 258 days. Williams will be the oldest finalist since Navratilova.

Asked about Martinez’s contribution, Muguruza said: “I think I’m here because of the hard work I’ve done before. The magic doesn’t happen just because somebody comes in and all of a sudden you are incredible. No.

“I think she’s helping me how to deal with the tournament, because obviously it’s a Grand Slam, and it’s difficult to handle because it’s two weeks. She has experience. It’s everything together - the work that I’ve been doing with her here and before with my previous team - that is working.”