This year at Wimbledon, many young and little known players have come on the forefront to claim their share of victories, but Williams name that has become synonyms with the Championships finals in the last ten years, is right there at the top. It’s the tenth occasion in the last eleventh years that one of the Williams sisters has reached the final. Serena and Venus have already claimed eight titles – a rare feat. This is the first time in ten years that Serena will face another player except her older sister in the Championships final. Serena won the title in 2002, 2003 and 2009 by defeating Venus. In fact, Serena holds a glittering 12-3 winning record in Grand Slam finals and that obviously projects her as the favourite one to win this year’s Championships title. However, Zvonareva has battled a reputation for fading in big matches as she bravely dispatched the former world no. Kim Clijsters in her quarterfinal match and did not allow Pironkova to become the first unseeded player to reach the final at the All England Club. Zvonareva certainly has nothing to lose. The Russian had never gotten past the fourth round in the Championships before and this is the first time in 30 Grand Slam tournaments that she will be playing for the title. 

Serena is at the top of her game at this moment. The no. 1 player in the world has pocketed all 12 sets; she has played in the Championships so far and also set a Wimbledon record by firing 80 aces in the tournament. Moreover, Serena has also reached a third consecutive final at Wimbledon as she defeated Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic convincingly with a 7-6 (5) 6-2 scoreline on Thursday in her semi-final match. 

When asked about her opponent, Serena quoted, "I don't think she does anything terrible. I think that's the best way to describe her game." Williams chuckled "she does everything good. I'm hoping to still peak in the final."

Serena’s road to the final: 

R128 – beat Michelle Larcherdebrito 6-0 6-4

R64 – beat Anna Chakvetadze 6-0 6-1

R32 – beat Dominika Cibulkova 6-0 7-5

R16 – beat Maria Sharapova 7-6 (9) 6-4

QF – beat Na Li 7-5 6-3

SF – beat Petra Kvitova 7-6 (5) 6-2

This is Zvonareva’s 30th Grand Slam tournament and she will be coming out all guns blazing toregister her name in the category of those players who waited longer for their first Grand Slam finals including Zina Garrison (34), Francesca Schiavone (39) and Nathalie Tauziat (42).

When asked about her journey so far in the tournament, Zvonareva said, "it was one of my dreams to be out there on Centre Court, playing in the finals of Wimbledon" The Russian further added "I'm sure when the tournament finishes, I'll finally realize I was able to make the final and one of my dreams came true."

On playing with Serena, Zvonareva quoted, "Serena is a great player. It's very difficult when she's serving well, but there are moments she doesn't make a first serve. I haven't seen anyone make 100% of first serves. You just have to take your chances then. I remember I played a very good match against her in Cincinnati one year. It was a very, very tough one, but I was able to play the right way against her."

Zvonareva’s road to the final:

R128 – beat Nuria Llagosteravives 6-4 6-1

R64 – beat Andrea Hlavackova 6-1 6-4

R32 – beat Yanina Wickmayer 6-4 6-2 

R16 – beat Jelena Jankovic 6-1 3-0 (Retd.)

QF – beat Kim Clijsters 3-6 6-4 6-2

SF- beat Tsvetana Pironkova 3-6 6-3 6-2

Both players have met six times before this match and Williams lead with a 5-1 winning record against Zvonareva. Interestingly, they have never played each other on grass. Last time, they met in Charleston in 2008, where Williams defeated the Russian in three sets with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 scoreline.