Johanna Konta’s hopes of a first Wimbledon final appearance ended on Thursday with a straight sets semi-final defeat by five-time champion Venus Williams.
The 37-year-old American who is the event’s 10th seed played superbly to win 6-4 6-2 on Centre Court and set up a final against Spain’s Garbine Muguruza.
The 26-year-old Konta had hoped to become the first British woman in a Wimbledon singles final since 1977, but she ended up being no match for Venus.
The sixth seed should now be contented with breaking into the top five for the first time in the next rankings.
Williams who is the oldest Grand Slam singles finalist since Martina Navratilova finished runner-up at Wimbledon in 1994 will now be seeking her sixth Wimbledon title on Saturday.
The American, through to her ninth final, won her first Wimbledon title in 2000 and the most recent of her seven major victories came on Centre Court in 2008.
Earlier on Thursday, Muguruza had beaten Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova 6-1 6-1 to book her place in the final.
(Source: NAN)