Garbiñe Muguruza raced through to her second Wimbledon final after ending Magdalena Rybarikova’s charmed run to the semi-finals, 6-1, 6-1.
Having beaten No.1 seed Angelique Kerber and two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the final four, the No.14 seed was back at her ruthless best against the shell-shocked Slovakian, who was overwhelmed by her opponent as much as the occasion.
Muguruza, who faced Serena Williams in the 2015 final, will face five-time champion Venus Williams for the chance to claim her second Grand Slam title.
“For me it's incredible to be here in another final,” said Muguruza, who wrapped up the one-sided affair in 64 minutes. “It's a Grand Slam. I lost two years ago, so I’m really look forward to this one to try to change that.”
It has been some month for Rybarikova, whose comeback following a seven-month spell on the sidelines moved into overdrive once she reached the grass.
With victories in Surbiton and Ilkley and semi-final appearances at Nottingham and now The Championships, she ends the British run with an 18-2 record and is projected to leap from the lower reaches of the top 100 to No.33 on Monday, two spots short of her career best ranking.
“I didn't play that well today,” conceded Rybarikova, who leaves Wimbledon with a win over incoming world No.1 Karolina Pliskova. “But Garbiñe played amazing. I was a little bit nervous, a little bit tired also in my legs – I just wanted to make the game, I wanted to play better, and I could not.”
Experience counts at this level, and former French Open champion Muguruza was superior in all departments on Centre Court when it mattered. Mentored by 1994 champion Conchita Martinez this year, the 23-year-old played with patience and precision, finding joy time and again with her backhand down the line and some sparkling net play. She claimed 19 of 25 points in total after venturing forward, preventing Rybarikova from mixing up the pace.
“It’s very different,” Muguruza said of playing her third Grand Slam semi-final compared to her first. “You know what are you going to feel. You know what you more or less deal with out there. I feel much more calm, controlling more my emotions than the last time.
“Hopefully I can feel that pressure always,” she added with a smile.
Muguruza was 5-0 to the good before Rybarikova registered a game, a quick game of keepie-uppie after losing the point at 30-30 helping to calm her nerves.
The 28-year-old produced her best tennis of the day to try and make a better start to the second set, but Muguruza kept finding answers, out-slicing her way to a break in the opening game.
With that, Rybarikova’s shoulders slumped. She saved two break points to hold for 4-1, but it merely delayed the inevitable as Muguruza ended the match with an unreturnable backhand down the line.
“Maybe it looks easy, but everything is inside,” said Muguruza. “Even if the score is 6-1, 4-1, you're never calm, no matter what happens. I could be 6-1, 5-0 – doesn't matter. I saw in the French Open final, one was winning set and 3-0 or something, and everything can turn around.”
That mentality will serve Muguruza well against Williams, who leads their head-to-head record 3-1 but lost their most recent encounter on clay in Rome back in May.
“Facing Venus, you know, she won here five times,” Muguruza said. “She knows how to play, especially Wimbledon finals. It's going to be a historic final again.”