It is no surprise that Serena Williams has been an inspiration for Garbine Muguruza, the 21-year-old she faces in the Wimbledon final.
After all, the American world No1 has had an impact on countless youngsters throughout her illustrious career, which has spanned three different decades.
But what many do not expect is how Muguruza has influenced Williams and how she has played a role in the 33-year-old’s stretch of incredible results over the past 12 months – a run where she has picked up three consecutive majors.
At the French Open last year, Muguruza – ranked No35 at the time – delivered a huge shock when she defeated Williams in the second round in straight sets in 64 minutes.
“It was an eye‑opening loss for me,” explained Williams, who is now on a 27-match winning streak at grand slams.
“Some losses you’re angry about, and some losses you learn from. That loss I think I learned the most from in a long time. I got so much better after that loss. I was able to improve a lot. I worked on things.”
Williams has beaten Muguruza since then, in three sets at January’s Australian Open, and despite the gulf in experience between them, the top seed expects another battle against the Spaniard today.
“I don’t think she’s intimidated at all. She’s not that kind of person. So she’ll be fine,” said Williams of Muguruza. “She has Wimbledon to lose. I think we both have Wimbledon to lose, so I think that’s something to lose.
"And, yeah, she’s beaten me before, so she knows how to win. She knows what to do. It’s a different situation. So I think it puts her in a unique position where she has an opportunity to become Wimbledon champ.”
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Muguruza is the first Spanish woman to make a grand slam final in 15 years, since Conchita Martinez made the Roland Garros final in 2000.
Hailing from a country that has 12 men ranked inside the top-100, headlined by one Rafael Nadal who has won 14 grand slam titles, Muguruza concedes that making a name for herself between those Spanish giants back home has not been easy.
Yet she finds herself the only remaining Spaniard at Wimbledon, with a shot at the title, while Nadal and co are on holiday in Spain, sending her congratulatory tweets and messages over the past two days.
“It actually means a lot because to read these messages from these kind of players, it’s so cool. I’m actually really happy that they support me and they watch me play. It’s really good,” said the charming Muguruza.
“I don’t feel pressure at all. I think the goal of (matching) Rafa is really high for pressure. I’m just happy to be here.
"This is a great achievement. I think it’s really good for women’s tennis. You know, just to try to keep improving, to give more good news.”
Muguruza’s last four wins were against four of the best counter-punchers and retrievers of the game in Angelique Kerber, Caroline Wozniacki, Timea Bacsinszky and Agnieszka Radwanska.
Although Williams poses a very different kind of challenge, Muguruza insists she must stick to what she knows best, which is her aggressive game. She finds comfort and confidence in her solid 1-2 record against Williams.
“It’s really important because it makes you see and realise that she’s also a person,” she said of her previous win against Williams. “She also has feelings. She also gets nervous.”
A win for Williams today would be the American’s fourth consecutive grand slam win – and 21st overall – and would put her within one major of completing a rare Grand Slam, which hasn’t been achieved on the women’s circuit since Steffi Graf won all four majors in 1988.
Williams has forbidden the media from asking her about it, and added: “I don’t want the pressure of that, and I’m not thinking of that. When you talk about it every time, you can’t help but think about it.
“It’s been okay just to free my brain from that.”
