12 July, 2019
Younger players may have to wait another year for a chance to win the world's oldest tennis championship, Wimbledon.
Switzerland's Roger Federer, who has won Wimbledon eight times, is looking to add to his own record as the winningest Grand Slam champion. He turns 38 years old next month.
On the women's side, American Serena Williams is looking to tie the women's record of Grand Slam championships. She turns 38 in September,
Serena Williams going for record
Williams will face 27-year-old Simona Halep of Romania in Saturday's women's final. Williams has won 23 Grand Slam championships, including seven at Wimbledon. At last year's final, Williams lost to Germany's Angelique Kerber. A win Saturday would be Williams's first Grand Slam title as a mother; she gave birth to her daughter two years ago. A win also would give her a record-tying 24 Grand Slam victories. Australia's Margaret Court holds the current record.
Halep has never won a Wimbledon championship. She won her first and only Grand Slam title at the French Open last year. And she has lost to Williams nine out of the 10 times they have played each other.
Williams, however, had this to say about Halep, "Can't underestimate her. She's like a little powerhouse." Williams noted that Halep has finished as the year's top player two times. "She wants to prove that she can do it again," Williams said.
Roger Federer looking to add records
To reach Sunday's men's final, Roger Federer had to beat Spain's Rafael Nadal on the same Wimbledon court where he lost the championship to Nadal in 2008. The five-set match, played 11 years ago, is considered one of the best tennis matches in history.
On Friday, Federer beat Nadal in four sets. After his victory, Federer said "Rafa played some unbelievable shots to stay in the match. I thought the match was played at a very high level. I enjoyed it. The crowd was amazing."
He told the BBC, "I'm exhausted. It was tough at the end."
Waiting for Federer in the men's final is 32-year-old Novak Djokovic of Serbia. The two have faced each other 47 times. Djokovic, the top-ranked tennis player in the world, has won 25 of those times. Djokovic is also the defending champion at Wimbledon. He has won four Wimbledon titles in his career.
But Federer has more Grand Slam championships – 20 -- and Wimbledon victories – eight -- than anyone else in men's tennis. He is looking to extend his own record and to defeat a younger player once again.
I'm Ashley Thompson.
Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
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Words in This Story
title - n. e status or position of being the champion in a sport or other competition
match - n. a contest between two or more players or teams
amazing - adj. causing great surprise or wonder
exhausted - adj. having used all of someone's mental or physical energy
tough - adj. very difficult to do or deal with