London (AFP)

There is now only one step. All that's missing is a win in the Wimbledon final on Saturday against Simona Halep so Serena Williams will forever mark the history of her sport with a 24th Grand Slam.

The American, who will play the 11th final of her career on the English turf, can equal in case of victory the record held by the Australian Margaret Court, which she won 24 Grand Slam in the 60s and 70s.

- Serena, the phoenix -

The American is definitely apart. Who could have predicted that the seven-time winner of Wimbledon would reach this year's Grand Slam final? The player trained by Patrick Mouratoglou galère since January with a knee loose, which has sealed for several months. She had to give up at Indian Wells in March, forfeit Miami, Rome. She has hardly played in the season with only 12 leg matches before going to London. She did not have enough time to prepare and did not play any field tournament between her fiasco at Roland Garros (elimination in the third round) and Wimbledon ... But here she is in the final.

And like Djokovic in men, she literally walks on his opponents recently. Already very impressive against her compatriot Alison Riske in the quarter, she torpedo the Czech Barbora Strycova in the semifinals. A game folded in just under an hour with a score of 6-1, 6-2. "I feel better than at the beginning of the tournament, I am improving match after match," confirmed Williams.

We almost forget her status as a mother (she gave birth in September 2017, ed) and her age well advanced for a player of the circuit. Almost 38 years old, she becomes the oldest player to reach such highs in Grand Slam. His secret? "I like what I do and I get up every morning to get in shape, I like my job and I'm pretty good at what I do, I like it."

Since her title at the Australian Open in January 2017, which had brought her to a record length of Margaret Court, Serena has not won a tournament. She was twice in the Grand Slam final, in New York and London last year, but each time she stalled at this stage. Saturday, she will be entitled to a 3rd chance, probably one of the last ...

- Halep, first -

The next walk for Serena is not big (1.68m), but Simona Halep has like it was N.1 world. Less time than the younger sister Williams, but the Romanian (7th) knows the intoxication of the peaks. She will play at Wimbledon the 5th final of her career in Grand Slam, her first on the grass. She also impressed in her semifinal, to another extent, sweeping the novice Elina Svitolina (8th) 6-1, 6-3.

Obviously if we look at the history between the two players, Serena's ultra domination is clear. Serena leads nine wins to 1. And the only time Serena lost, it was a pool match at the Masters in 2014 in Singapore. A few days later, Halep did not exist in the final (6-3, 6-0). A past that the Romanian does not interpret as a fatality.

"A lot of them were tight, and I learned from those matches that I had a chance," she said confidently. "Anything is possible, that's why I believe it more than ever when I play on grass," added Halep.

The Romanian, former semi-finalist in London in 2014, has only recently declared her love of grass, she who did not like it before. A late conversion, but that seems to work.

© 2019 AFP