London: Spaniard Garbine Muguruza's relationship with grasscourt tennis has not been smooth, but it has blossomed so spectacularly that she now stands one win from being crowned Wimbledon champion.
"I'm surprised because my two (grasscourt) tournaments before, they were not so good," Muguruza, the first Spanish woman to reach a Wimbledon final since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in 1996, said after beating Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 .
"I didn't feel so good. So to be in the final, it's like amazing. I've grown so much mentally. I'm tougher now. I've learned how to play on grass," 20th-seeded Muguruza.
She will take heart from one victory over Serena on her way to the French Open quarter-finals in 2014.
"I think it's the best final you can play," she said. "You know, to have Serena in the Wimbledon final I think is the hardest match you can have.
"If you want to win a Grand Slam, when you dream, you say, I want Serena in the final."
Meanwhile, on the Indian front, Leander Paes entered the semi-finals of the mixed doubles event even as Sania Mirza crashed out in the quarters.
While Leander and his partner Martina Hingis took little time to brush aside the challenge of Polish-Russian combination of Marcin Matkowski and Elina Vesnina 6-2, 6-1 , second seeds Sania and Bruno Soares of Brazil were stunned 6-3, 6-7(8), 7-9 by fifth seeds Alexander Peya of Austria and Timea Babos of Hungary.
Paes and Hingis will face American pair of Mike Bryan and Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the semi-finals. It was also curtains for India's Rohan Bopanna and his Romanian partner Florin Mergea. (Agencies)
