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Park struggles, falls out of lead at US Women’s Open

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Federer to play Djokovic in his 10th Wimbledon final

<p>LONDON &#8212; Turn back the calendar more than a year, to June 28, 2014, when Serena Williams lost to Alize Cornet in the third round at Wimbledon.</p><p>It was Williams&#8217; earliest exit from the All England Club in nearly a decade. It also marked the fourth time in five Grand Slam tournaments she was beaten before the quarterfinals.</p><p>Now examine what Cornet, who was seeded 25th and only once previously had been as far as the fourth round at a major, said afterward: &#8220;It might be a bit premature to talk about her decline, but when she plays someone who finds the right tactics, she looks a bit lost on the court. In my opinion, there are more and more players understanding how to play her.&#8221;</p><p>Oh, really? Where are they hiding? Since that day, Williams has not lost a Grand Slam match, winning 27 in a row &#8212; on the hard courts of the U.S. Open and Australian Open, then the red clay of the French Open, and now the grass of Wimbledon &#8212; heading into Saturday&#8217;s final against 21-year-old Garbine Muguruza of Spain.</p><p>It will be the No. 1-seeded Williams&#8217; 25th career Grand Slam title match &#8212; she is 20-4 in the others &#8212; and the 20th-seeded Muguruza&#8217;s first.</p><p>At the Grand Slam tournament that immediately preceded Wimbledon in 2014, the French Open, Williams lost even sooner, 6-2, 6-2 in the second round, her most lopsided defeat in 318 career matches at majors. The opponent that day just so happened to be Muguruza, a big hitter who talks about the importance of putting on a &#8220;poker face&#8221; during matches.</p><p>&#8220;It was an eye-opening loss for me. Some losses you&#8217;re angry about, and some losses you learn from. That loss, I think I learned the most from in a long time,&#8221; Williams said. &#8220;I got so much better after that loss. I was able to improve a lot. I worked on things. I didn&#8217;t see the results straightaway. But months later, I started seeing the results, more and more.&#8221;</p><p>On Thursday, after Williams easily eliminated 2004 champion Maria Sharapova in the semifinals 6-2, 6-4, the 33-year-old American was asked what she remembers about &#8212; and might have learned from &#8212; that setback against Cornet at the All England Club.</p><p>Williams&#8217; reply: &#8220;Um, you know, not much. I just realized that I just needed to run faster, I guess.&#8221;</p><p>She paused, then smiled broadly and added: &#8220;I don&#8217;t want to talk about that.&#8221;</p><p>Another topic five-time Wimbledon champion Williams has been reluctant to discuss is all that is at stake for her at the conclusion of this fortnight.</p><p>If she beats Muguruza, Williams will have won her fourth consecutive Grand Slam title over two seasons, completing a self-styled Serena Slam, something she also did in 2002-03. That would also put Williams three-quarters of the way to a true Grand Slam &#8212; all four championships in a single year &#8212; which was last accomplished by Steffi Graf in 1988.</p><p>When a reporter made a passing reference to such milestones after a fourth-round victory over older sister Venus on Monday, Williams rested her chin on her left hand and declared: &#8220;I no longer answer questions about Grand Slams.&#8221;</p><p>Her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, gave a glowing scouting report on Muguruza.</p><p>&#8220;She has the perfect game for grass. She serves well, she hits quite flat, takes the ball early, is aggressive,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s her first Grand Slam final, so we&#8217;ll see how, emotionally, she deals with it.&#8221;</p><p>Muguruza is aware that, even if she knows she can beat Williams because she has, Saturday&#8217;s task will be tough.</p><p>&#8220;Everything always depends on her &#8212; it&#8217;s Serena,&#8221; said Muguruza, who has defeated top-10 players Caroline Wozniacki and Angelique Kerber, along with 2015 French Open semifinalist Timea Bacsinszky and 2012 Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska on her road to the final. &#8220;It&#8217;s a match I need to go into with a cool head.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Williams </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_Britain-Wimbledon-Ten_Sopr-5-.jpg</photo0><caption0>Williams </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Howard Fendrich</p><p>AP Tennis Writer</p></bylineMeta></div>

Williams seeking 21st major in Wimbledon final