Venus Williams makes Wimbledon final: Twitter reacts

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 13: Venus Williams of The United States victory during the Ladies Singles semi final match against Johanna Konta of Great Britain on day ten of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Wimbledon on July 13, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 13: Venus Williams of The United States victory during the Ladies Singles semi final match against Johanna Konta of Great Britain on day ten of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Wimbledon on July 13, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Venus Williams defeated Johanna Konta at Wimbledon Thursday to reach her first final at the tournament since 2009.

For the second day running, an American beat a British No. 1 at Wimbledon. This one was rather more expected than Sam Querrey’s defeat of Andy Murray, though.

Venus Williams beat Johanna Konta in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, to advance to only her second major final since 2009. The fact both of them have been this year illustrates what a resurgence she has had in 2017.

Konta played reasonably well, but Williams never looked in danger. Venus’ serve was particularly strong throughout. Her opponent only had two break points in the whole match, and didn’t take either of them.

Williams had served significantly more double faults than Konta in the tournament prior to this match. The 22-10 count made little difference here, though, as the British number one served up four to Venus’ two. The American’s extra experience seemed to tell in the key moments throughout the match.

Not that Konta’s serve was too bad. She served seven aces to Venus’ one, and two percent more of her first serves were in too. On average, the Brit’s serves were a shade faster than Williams’, which was perhaps unexpected.

It was the second serves that made a key difference. Williams won a very healthy 65 percent of the points on a second serve, but Konta won just 33 percent. Perhaps crucially, Williams broke Konta in the final game of the first set, which meant she could serve first in both sets. The home crowd favorite was always playing catch up, and it proved too big a challenge for her. Here’s how Twitter reacted to the result.

Next: Each State's Sports Mt Rushmore

Seven of Venus’ eight major final defeats have been against her sister, Serena. Garbine Muguruza may be ranked 15th in the world, but who would bet against Williams claiming her sixth Wimbledon crown?