Sisters will meet in final for first five years

In 2002 and 2003, two sisters competed for the Wimbledon Championships. This year, in 2008, there will be the same rivalry, as sisters Serena and Venus Williams will meet in the final, Serena going for her third title, and Venus going for her fifth title. Serena was victorious over Chinese wildcard Jie Zheng in straight sets, 62 76(5); while Venus defeated Russian Elena Dementieva also in straight sets, 61 76(3).

"Being in the final, which is always exciting, started to set in," said Venus, who was visibly ecstatic during her post-match handshake with Dementieva. "When I'm excited I always jump. That will never change. But the tournament is definitely not over. I'm still in the doubles and still have the final to play. I would definitely like to celebrate even more if I'm good enough to take that title."

"In the beginning she really dominated, put a lot of pressure on my serve, served unbelievably well; it was really hard," Dementieva said. "I knew she probably couldn't play like that the whole match. I was feeling really ready to play. I was so ready. If she gave me a chance by not serving like that, like 121, 125 miles per hour the whole match, I would be able to do better than I did today."

Jie Zheng, Serena's semifinal opponent, made a historic run here at Wimbledon, being the first Chinese person to win to top seed Ana Ivanovic in the third round, and she is the first Chinese person to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam.

"I was probably thinking too much on the set point," said Zheng on her missed opportunity on set point, where she netted a backhand down-the-line, a shot that had been working almost perfectly the entire set. "I knew there were millions and millions of people watching back home. I really wanted to win. But overall I'm quite satisfied with the performance I had today. Her serve was just too big."

"I definitely felt like I wanted to win it now, but at the same time I was ready for the third set," Williams said on the tight ending. "I'm really excited because I feel it's all coming together now. I'm serving and moving better, and my whole game is just coming together. And it's always exciting to be in a Grand Slam final."

The Williams sisters have faced each other 15 times previously, with Serena leading, 8-7. They split their first 14, which all came between 1998 and 2005, although in their six Grand Slam finals it was Serena who came out on top, 5-1 (including two finals here); and in their only meeting since 2005, at Bangalore earlier this year, Serena also came out on top, saving a match point in the third set en route to a 63 36 76(4) win; but Venus does hold the edge in Wimbledon titles, 4-2. It couldn't be harder to pick a favorite this Saturday.

"On the court she's always Serena Williams. She's tenacious. She's got every shot no matter what. You can't bet against her," Venus said. "I respect her as a player more than anyone else on the Tour. Our focus was for both of us to get to the final, then from there it's every Williams for themself."

"It has definitely been a while," Serena added. "Our rankings fell. We've been on the same side of the draw a few times. I, unfortunately, lost a lot. But now it's good. This is a new start for us. We'll just leave everything out on the court.

"This is the finals of Wimbledon. Who doesn't want it?"

Players ready for semifinals

As the quarterfinals are finished with, the semis are under way on Thursday, featuring both of the Williams sisters, Russian Elena Dementieva, and Chinese wildcard Jie Zheng. In the previous round, Serena Williams beat Polish Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets, 64 60; sister Venus gained victory over Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn also in straight sets, 64 63; the Russian Dementieva defeated countrywoman Nadia Petrova in a tough three-setter, 61 67(6) 63; and the surprise semifinalist Jie Zheng overcame No. 18 seed Nicole Vaidisova in a thrilling three-setter, 62 57 61.

The final of the Wimbledon Championships will be played on Saturday and the men's final will be played on Sunday.

Good luck to all players.

Today's Results

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Singles - Quarterfinals
(5) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. (21) Nadia Petrova (RUS) 61 67(6) 63
(6) Serena Williams (USA) d. (14) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 64 60
(7) Venus Williams (USA) d. Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) 64 63
(WC) Zheng Jie (CHN) d. (18) Nicole Vaidisova (CZE) 62 57 61

Radwanska knocked out by Serena; Zheng gains victory over teenager Vaidisova

The Williams sisters could be the ones to battle it out in the final, as they won their matches with ease, while their future semifinal opponents won their matches with need of very hard work.

Venus Williams, seeded No. 7 and going for her fifth Wimbledon title, was the first to reach the semifinals, beating breakthrough story Tamarine Tanasugarn in straight sets, 64 63. Venus hit 22 unforced errors and gave Tanasugarn 10 break chances, with Tanasugarn winning only one break point.

"I think the key in this tournament has been my serve; any time I'm down break point or double break point, my serve gets me out of it," Williams said. "I expect that from myself. I expect when times are tough to really get going. That has been the basis of my game for a long time. On those break points you've got to play better, so I'm blessed to have a serve to get me out of those issues."

"I tried the best I could today," Tanasugarn said. "I had so many break points in the first set, but top players like Venus don't give you any easy chances, so you have to make it. And she served really well during the break points. She has some very big weapons on this surface. And she wasn't falling apart; she didn't give me any chances to come back in the match. So it was very difficult."

Tanasugarn had a brilliant grass court season, winning her first tournament on the surface at 's-Hertogenbosch, on the way winning to Top 10 players Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina, and now being the first Thai woman to be in a Grand Slam quarterfinal.

"Obviously she was playing well to get to the quarterfinals," said Williams on Tanasugarn. "Her game is really suited for the grass; her shots are really, really low to the ground. I was battling just to stay down on the shots. I felt good when I got one up in my strike zone. Maybe I had a little more in my game than the players she played before, and that helped me get through it."

Next to face Venus Williams is Elena Dementieva, who was trying hard to get victory over countrywoman Nadia Petrova in three sets, 61 67(6) 63. Dementieva led 61 51, but Petrova came back to make it equal at 5-5, and then took the set to a tiebreak which she won, fighting back from two match points down at 6-4.

"It feels wonderful," Dementieva said. "It's my first semifinal here and I'm very excited about it. As anyone could see, I was really, really tight. In the second set I had the feeling of almost being in the semifinals and lost my concentration. It was really difficult to start all over again in the third. But I'm just really happy I was able to get through such a difficult situation in my match and finish well."

"This match was a big opportunity and I missed it," said Petrova, who was hoping to reach her third Grand Slam semifinal, having done so twice before at Roland Garros. "It has been a good run for me. I'm happy I'm getting my game back. I'm going through all the match situations again, all the play, all the emotions. So, it's like doing it all the way from the beginning."

Serena demolishes Radwanska; Zheng stuns Vaidisova

Serena Williams, seeded No. 6,younger sister of Venus, and going for her third Wimbledon title, dominated the court against Agnieszka Radwanska with an easy 64 60 win. Williams had five times more winners than unforced errors, firing aces, forehand and backhand winners from everywhere around the court.

"I definitely felt I stepped it up a notch, mostly with my serve," Williams said. "I expected Radwanska to get a lot of balls back, like she did, and make some good shots, like she did. She always hits an extra ball, like I had to do out there."

Radwanska came into Wimbledon from a warm-up tournament, Eastbourne, winning the title and getting past top players like Marion Bartoli in the semifinals and Nadia Petrova in the final.

Next to face Williams is wildcard Jie Zheng, who gained victory over teenager Nicole Vaidisova in a three-setter, 62 57 61. Zheng, who beat top seed Ana Ivanovic on the way to the semis, became China's first ever Grand Slam semifinalist, beating Li Na's record here two year ago, when she finished her run in the quarterfinals.

"I've been watching her play; I think she's doing a fabulous job, and I don't think it's luck, her doing so well," Williams said on Zheng. "I think she's a really good player. I'm definitely not going to underestimate her. I'm going to try to fight and do the best that I can do."