LONDON (AP) – Venus Williams has gotten this far before. Many times, in fact.
It’s just been a while.
The five-time Wimbledon champion will be playing in the quarterfinals at the All England Club for the 12th time in her career, but the first time since 2010.
“Yeah, it’s been a few years. Missed a year or two,” said Williams, who has been slowed in recent years by Sjogren’s syndrome, a condition that can cause joint pain and saps energy. “But I’ve been here before. I’m not, like, a deer in the headlights.”
The eighth-seeded Williams will take on Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan on Tuesday, a player she has never faced.
Williams reached the quarterfinals by beating Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 7-6 (3), 6-4, while Shvedova defeated 28th-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-4.
“I’ve never played her, so we’ll see how it goes,” Williams said. “First couple rounds were against players I’ve never played. It’s always interesting. You spend the first few games trying to figure out what’s working, what’s not working. It will definitely be that tomorrow.”
All four women’s quarterfinals will be played Tuesday. In the other matches, it’s: Serena Williams vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova; Dominika Cibulkova vs. Elena Vesnina; and Angelique Kerber vs. Simona Halep.
