Who will prevail? The Wimbledon women's semi-finalists in profile
Thursday 13 July 2017 15:18, UK
We take a look at the Wimbledon women's semi-finalists, with Johanna Konta facing Venus Williams and Garbine Muguruza meeting Magdalena Rybarikova on Thursday.
Johanna Konta
The British history books are continuing to be rewritten at Wimbledon this year after Johanna Konta's remarkable run to the semi-finals.
The first British woman to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals since Jo Durie in 1984, the first British woman to reach the last four since Virginia Wade in 1978, and maybe the first home champion since Wade 40 years ago? Another win would also see her become only the fourth British woman ever to break into the top five in the world.
Konta's run is even more impressive considering she had previously won only one match in five Wimbledon appearances.
In the last two years, Konta has climbed up the rankings from 146th to world No 7, with her semi-final at the Australian Open earlier this year and victory in Miami cementing her place in the top 10.
Konta overpowered Simona Halep in the quarter-finals, hitting 48 winners compared to 26 from the Romanian, who would have become world No 1 with victory.
And the British No 1 is relishing the opportunity to face Venus Williams for the third time this year, with both players winning once apiece.
"I think what Venus and her sister [Serena] have given our sport is absolutely tremendous. The way they've elevated women's tennis is truly inspiring. So I feel very excited and very humbled to be sharing the court with her again," she said.
"We've had a few battles in the past. She's got the better of me the last time we played, so I'm really looking forward to playing her."
Venus Williams
Venus Williams, a five-time Wimbledon champion, continued her fine form at this year's tournament with a convincing victory over French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Ostapenko was on an 11-match unbeaten run but the Latvian was unable to offer enough answers to Williams' consistent ball striking and made her intentions clear in the opening game of the match firing three aces.
Williams has enjoyed defeating her younger opponents, having already seen off fellow rising stars of the women's game in Ana Konjuh and before that Japan's Naomi Osaka.
The American, who has reached 10 semi-finals in her 20 appearances at Wimbledon, managed to subdue her 20-year-old opponent's aggression from the baseline in the first set while hitting 15 unreturned serves to take charge of the encounter.
The world No 11 will now meet Konta in what promises to be a compelling semi-final.
"I love the challenge," said Williams about what keeps the seven-time Grand Slam champion so driven at the age of 37.
"I love pressure. It's not always easy dealing with the pressure. There's constant pressure. It's only yourself who can have the answer for that.
"I love the last day you play, you're still improving. It's not something that is stagnant. There's always a reason. You have to get better. I love that... The competition keeps you growing. You have to get better if you want to stay relevant."
Garbine Muguruza
Former French Open champion Garbine Muguruza booked her place in the Wimbledon semi-finals with a confidence- boosting 6-3 6-4 victory over two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.
The Spanish star, who reached her second Wimbledon semi-final, proved to have too much power for the experienced Russian who was appearing in a Wimbledon quarter-final for the first time in 10 years.
The 23-year-old, seeded 14th, has guaranteed a return to the world's top-10 with her victory over Kuznetsova and produced some sterling tennis which added credence to the belief that she is returning to the form that saw her win at Roland Garros last year.
Muguruza, who made her Grand Slam breakthrough at Wimbledon in 2015 before succumbing to Serena Williams, also impressed in her three-set fourth round victory against the tournament's top seed Angelique Kerber.
The world No 15, who has benefited from the support of Spain's Davis Cup and Fed Cup captain Conchita Martinez, will believe she has been presented with a fantastic opportunity to reach another Grand Slam final when she faces Magdalena Rybarikova.
"I think a lot of things have to click to be able to win a major," said Muguruza about her chances of adding a second Grand Slam title.
"I'm feeling pretty good. I'm being aggressive and not doing a lot of errors that maybe I could do sometimes. So it's a bunch of things. Being physically good, as well, with all the matches.
"If you put everything together and in place, you can maybe have a very good performance."
Magdalena Rybarikova
Of all the 'stories' in the Wimbledon semi-finals, does Magdalena Rybarikova's top the lot?
The world No 87 had surgery on her left wrist and right knee in 2016 and missed the rest of the season after losing in the first round at Wimbledon last year.
In fact, she had lost in the first round in eight of her previous nine visits to Wimbledon.
But this year she has won 18 of 19 matches on grass, including winning the title in Ilkley and losing to Johanna Konta in the semi-finals of Nottingham.
The Slovak becomes the 17th consecutive first-time Grand Slam semi-finalist, and is the first from her country to reach the last four at Wimbledon after both Dominika Cibulkova and Daniela Hantuchova fell at the quarter-final stage.
"I always enjoy playing on grass, it's my favourite surface," she said after beating Petra Martic in the last 16. "I think it fits my game. I play a lot of slices. I go for the volleys. I serve well. That makes [it] easier for me to play on grass."
Rybarikova, who is the lowest ranked woman to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals for nine years, upset soon-to-be world No 1 Karolina Pliskova in the second round and beat Coco Vandeweghe in the quarter-finals for the loss of just six games.
"Obviously, I was dreaming about it since I was a little kid, to be semif-inal in Wimbledon. I think all the players are dreaming about this to happen," Rybarikova reflected after her quarter-final victory.
"Wimbledon is my favourite Grand Slam, that's for sure. Also playing on grass, it's my favourite surface. I really enjoy playing on grass."
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