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Melbourne - Age-defying Venus Williams says she is living
the dream after making yet another Grand Slam semi-final on Tuesday, setting up
an all-American clash against a rampant Coco Vandeweghe.
The 36-year-old powered past Russia's Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) and into her third Australian Open semi, while
Vandeweghe stunned French Open champion Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-0 in a blitz of
big hitting.
"What can I say. Just trying to live the dream,"
Williams said of her longevity, after becoming the oldest woman since a
37-year-old Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon 1994 to make a Slam semi.
"I have no exact answer, except I do know how to play
tennis, so that's helpful. If you can get the ball in, it's even more
helpful."
It is a remarkable feat for Williams, who made her
professional debut in 1994 and is enjoying a late-career renaissance following
a long battle with a rare autoimmune disorder.
She made the same round at Wimbledon last year but had not
got this far at Melbourne Park since 2003, when she beat Justine Henin only to
lose to sister Serena in the final.
Henin is long retired but Serena is still going strong and
plays her quarter-final, against Johanna Konta, on Wednesday, with an
all-Williams title match still on the cards.
Venus Williams also made the last four at Melbourne in 2001,
losing to then world number one Martina Hingis, another veteran who is playing
doubles at this year's Australian Open.
Despite surprise-package Vandeweghe showing imperious form,
Williams is brimming with confidence and believes she can go on to win her
first Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2008.
"Why shouldn't I? I try to believe. Should I look
across the net and believe the person across the net deserves it more?"
she said.
"This mentality is not how champions are made. I'd like
to be a champion, in particular this year. The mentality I walk on court with
is: I deserve this."
The seven-time Grand Slam winner is yet to drop a set in
Melbourne and was composed against Pavlyuchenkova, who had knocked out 11th
seed Elina Svitolina and Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded eight, on her way to the
quarter-finals.
But Vandeweghe will be a different proposition.
Vandeweghe, like Williams one of the tallest women on the
circuit at 1.85 metres, she is supremely confident and in fine touch, having
stunned world number one Angelique Kerber before upsetting Muguruza.
"I really wasn't feeling great out there. I was
nervous... I was second-guessing myself," said the 25-year-old, whose
mother was an Olympic swimmer and whose grandfather played basketball for the
New York Knicks.
"But I kept the pressure on and she finally cracked.
Once I got rolling in the second set it was like a freight train, you couldn't
stop it."
It is now Vandeweghe's best performance at a major,
bettering her quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon in 2015.
The right-hander, ranked 35, has a reputation for
inconsistency and she lost seven of her last 10 matches at the end of 2016. But
she has in brilliant form so far this year.
She has a booming serve and phenomenal groundstrokes, with a
game suited to the fast and hard courts of the Australian Open.
Williams though has no intention of being intimidated,
particularly with the prospect of meeting sister Serena once again in a major
final.
"To me, the semi-finals is a stepping stone, just like
the other rounds. It's an opportunity to advance," she said.
"The tournament is by no means over."
