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Wimbledon 2015: Women's final preview

Serena Williams' greatest tournament win came at Melbourne Park a decade ago. (AFP PHOTO/ Martin Bernetti)
Roar Guru
10th July, 2015
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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.

Standing in her way of achieving that is Garbine Muguruza, who will attempt to emulate countrywoman Conchita Martinez’s feat of winning Wimbledon in 1994, having become the first female Spanish Grand Slam finalist since Martinez reached the French Open final in 2000.

Here is your full preview to the 2015 Wimbledon ladies’ singles final.

Serena Williams (1) versus Garbine Muguruza (20)
Head-to-head: S Williams 2-1
Last meeting: S Williams 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, fourth round, 2015 Australian Open

Serena Williams’ road to the final
Round 1: defeated Margarita Gasparyan 6-4 6-1
Round 2: defeated Timea Babos 6-4, 6-1
Round 3: defeated Heather Watson 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
Round 4: defeated Venus Williams (16) 6-4, 6-3
Quarter-finals: defeated Victoria Azarenka (23) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
Semi-finals: defeated Maria Sharapova (4) 6-2, 6-4

Garbine Muguruza’s road to the final
Round 1: defeated Varvara Lepchenko 6-4, 6-1
Round 2: defeated Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
Round 3: defeated Angelique Kerber (10) 7-6 (14-12), 1-6, 6-2
Round 4: defeated Caroline Wozniacki (5) 6-4, 6-4
Quarter-finals: defeated Timea Bacsinszky (15) 7-5, 6-3
Semi-finals: defeated Agnieszka Radwanska (13) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3

Preview
This is it. Only one match and two sets separate Serena Williams from not only winning her sixth Wimbledon title and 21st Grand Slam title overall, but also holding each of the four Grand Slam titles simultaneously.

The American has continued on from the form that saw her claim the Australian and French Open titles at the Championships, and will start the hot favourite to claim a sixth Wimbledon crown and further stake her claim to greatness.

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The 33-year-old couldn’t have performed better in the semi-finals when she defeated Maria Sharapova in straight sets in the semi-finals, doing so without facing a break point on her serve.

That followed gutsy three-set victories over former world number one Victoria Azarenka and Heather Watson on either side of a straight-sets win over elder sister Venus in the fourth round.

If there’s one player who is intent on ruining her bid for history, it’s Spanish 20th seed Garbine Muguruza, who entered the Championships low on expectations but has surprised many en route to reaching her maiden Grand Slam final.

The rising Spaniard claimed the scalps of four seeds along the way, including those of former world number one Caroline Wozniacki and former finalist Agnieszka Radwanska, further enhancing her reputation as a giant killer.

Against the latter, she dominated the first set and appeared set for a straight-sets win before the Pole drew on all her experience to level the match at one-set all before Muguruza eventually closed it out in three sets.

She also handed Serena Williams her worst Grand Slam match defeat at last year’s French Open, winning 6-2, 6-2, and also pushed her to three sets at the Australian Open earlier this year.

It was that win at Roland Garros last year, as well as her narrow three-set quarter-final loss to Maria Sharapova at that same tournament, which saw her arrive as a potential future star in women’s tennis.

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And now, the 21-year-old Spaniard will be tested in what is arguably the biggest match of her career. Can she emulate her win over Williams from last year’s French Open again, or will the American’s experience prove too much?

Stats that matter
* This will be Serena Williams’ 25th Grand Slam final (and ninth since mid-2011), while for Garbine Muguruza this will be her first.
* This will be their fourth meeting not just overall, but also at Grand Slam level; Williams won twice at the Australian Open while Muguruza handed the American her worst defeat at this level with a 6-2, 6-2 victory at last year’s French Open.
* Williams is attempting to emulate her own feat of holding each of the four Grand Slam titles simultaneously, having doing so between the 2002 French Open and 2003 Australian Open.
* Williams is the first woman since Justine Henin in 2006 to reach four Grand Slam finals in a row. That year, the Belgian reached all four Grand Slam finals but was only able to win the French Open.
* Only three women (Venus Williams twice, Maria Sharapova and Samantha Stosur) have beaten Williams in a Grand Slam final; only Stosur has never lost in this category and she also remains the last woman to beat Williams in a Grand Slam final (2011 US Open).
* The American has won the last seven Grand Slam finals in which she has contested, dating back to Wimbledon 2012.
* Muguruza is the 13th different opponent of Williams in a Grand Slam final. Apart from the aforementioned four, the other nine are Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Jelena Jankovic, Dinara Safina, Vera Zvonareva, Agnieszka Radwanska, Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki and Lucie Safarova.
* Muguruza is the first Spanish woman since Conchita Martinez (2000 French Open) to reach a Grand Slam final. A victory would see her become the first female Spanish Grand Slam champion since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario won the 1998 French Open, and at Wimbledon since Martinez in 1994.
* Muguruza is attempting to become the first woman since Victoria Azarenka won the 2012 Australian Open to win in her first Grand Slam final appearance, and at Wimbledon since Petra Kvitova in 2011.
* This is the sixth consecutive year in which Wimbledon has produced a first-time Grand Slam finalist. Muguruza joins Vera Zvonareva (2010), Petra Kvitova (2011), Agnieszka Radwanska (2012), Sabine Lisicki (2013) and Eugenie Bouchard (last year) as those whose first Grand Slam final came at the All England Club.

The verdict
Over the last few years, Garbine Muguruza has enhanced her reputation as not only a giant-name killer, but also a big-match player, and all that will be put to the test as she looks to sabotage Serena Williams’ bid for more Grand Slam history.

As already mentioned, the Spaniard handed Williams her worst Grand Slam match loss at last year’s French Open, as the American endured an unusually poor year at the Slams which was only salvaged by a win at the US Open last September.

However, Williams has hit back at the first two Grand Slam tournaments of this year and the lure of holding all four Grand Slam titles and closing in on Steffi Graf (22) and Margaret Court (24) on the Grand Slam leaderboard will drive Williams to a 21st Grand Slam title, and all but wrap up the year-end world number one ranking.

Prediction
Serena Williams in straight sets.

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