Serena powers past Strycova into Wimbledon final

Serena Williams of the U.S. and Czech Republic's Barbora Strycova after their 

semi-final match - REUTERS 

London (Reuters): Mixed doubles with Andy Murray was fun but Serena Williams got back to the serious business as she powered into her 11th Wimbledon final by overwhelming unseeded Czech Barbora Strycova in a brutal 6-1 6-2 victory on Centre Court on Thursday.

Clobbering huge serves and forehands, the veteran American was always in control as she set up a showdown with Romanian former world number one Simona Halep in Saturday’s final.

The 37-year-old will become the oldest woman to contest a Grand Slam final in the professional era and will have another chance to equal Margaret Court’s record 24 singles majors, having lost in the Wimbledon and US Open finals last year.

“It’s good, especially after my year. It definitely feels good to be back in the final,” Williams, who has played sparingly this year because knee problems, said.

“It’s definitely a lot better, I just needed some matches. I know I’m improving and I just needed to feel good and then I can do what I do best which is play tennis.”

Strycova, the oldest first-time Grand Slam semi-finalist at 33, boasts a tricky game that scrambled the mind of Britain’s Johanna Konta in the quarter-finals.

But seven-time Wimbledon champion Williams, still seeking her first title since becoming a mother in 2017, is made of much sterner stuff and simply bulldozed her way through her opponent’s lightweight resistance.