Justine Henin took advantage of an injured Serena Williams at
Wimbledon on Wednesday, advancing to the semifinals with a 6-4,
3-6, 6-3 win over the two-time champion.
Although Williams managed to win the middle set, Henin's variety
of shots kept the American moving. On Monday, Williams collapsed on
the court with a strained left calf during her fourth-round win.
She played against Henin on Wednesday with her leg, left wrist and
thumb taped.
"Definitely not 100 percent at all," Williams said. "It was
probably at 40 or 50 - max. If I had been healthy I think I would
have won, 100 percent."
Venus Williams advanced to the quarterfinals, dominating 2004
champion Maria Sharapova and winning 6-1, 6-3 in a two-day match
that included a nearly two-hour rain delay. Rafael Nadal advanced
to the fourth round in the men's draw in a rain-interrupted match
that finished four days after he first stepped on court.
The top-ranked Henin said she didn't notice that Serena Williams
had trouble moving.
"Maybe a little at the beginning of the match," Henin said.
"After that, I think she could run pretty much, especially on the
drop shots and everything."
Henin first served for the match at 5-1 in the third set, but
several unforced errors and a rejuvenated Serena Williams briefly
extended the match.
"I was a bit nervous at the end," said Henin, who is trying to
complete a career Grand Slam by winning at the All England Club.
"But finally I could finish the match ... and that was really
important because who knows what would happen if it was 5-4."
Henin also beat Serena Williams in the quarterfinals at the
French Open this year. She went on to win her fourth title at
Roland Garros.
In the semifinals, Henin will face No. 18 Marion Bartoli. The
22-year-old Frenchwoman beat No. 31 Michaella Krajicek, the younger
sister of 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, 3-6, 6-3,
6-2.
Venus Williams wasted seven break points in the third game of
the second set against Sharapova, but broke in the seventh and
ninth games to advance.
"In my whole life I've been a big-match player," the three-time
Wimbledon champion said. "I always believe in my game. I know I
have a lot of stuff others players don't have."
Williams had 19 break points in the match, converting four of
them. Sharapova failed to even earn a break point, and only pushed
Williams to deuce once on the American's serve.
"The serve definitely was a weapon," said Williams, who will
face 2004 U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the
quarterfinals.
After Sharapova sent a forehand into the net on match point,
Williams smiled and waved to the crowd while her father, Richard,
stood with his arms raised in celebration.
The match started Tuesday afternoon, but only three points were
played before rain forced suspension. Early in the second set
Wednesday, Williams and Sharapova had to wait through another rain
delay that lasted nearly two hours.
"I don't know if it was the wind or a slow start. She got off to
a fast start," Sharapova said. "I just didn't feel really
comfortable in the first set."
The rain at Wimbledon this year has caused stoppages and
postponements on eight of the tournament's nine days.
Nadal fell to his knees in relief after finally beating Robin
Soderling 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (7), 4-6, 7-5. The 2006 Wimbledon runner-up
finally won on his sixth match point, the final five coming two
days after the first.
"The toughest match maybe (of) my career," Nadal said. "Because
the stops always were tougher for me than for him because I was
winning."
The match was scheduled to begin Saturday, but the players were
pulled off the court during the warmup because of rain. After the
traditional middle Sunday off, the match started Monday.
That's when Nadal held a match point in the third-set
tiebreaker, but he eventually lost that set and the next one. Play
was suspended for the day with Nadal leading 2-0 in the fifth
set.
"It's difficult because the match point was out like this,"
Nadal said, holding his thumb and finger close together. "For me it
was tough because I have to defend the advantage."
On Tuesday, they returned to the court but played for only 20
minutes until the rain again halted play for the day.
Resuming at 4-4 in the fifth set Wednesday, Nadal held serve in
the 11th game - saving one break point - and then sat down during
the changeover as it began to drizzle. While the chair umpire
waited to see if the rain would stop, Nadal sat nervously shaking
his left leg.
Play continued moments later, and Soderling was able to save
four more match points before he sent a backhand long.
The Swede challenged the call as Nadal ran to the net, but the
"Hawk-Eye" replay technology showed the ball was out.
Nadal, a three-time French Open champion, then dropped to his
knees and later threw his wristbands into the crowd. He'll next
play No. 14 Mikhail Youzhny.
No. 4 Novak Djokovic also reached the fourth round in a match
that took three days, and No. 3 Andy Roddick advanced to the
quarterfinals in an encounter that took two days.
Djokovic beat Nicolas Kiefer 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-6 (5), and
will play 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt in the fourth round. Roddick
defeated Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 (6). The American trailed
3-0 in the third set and then 5-0 in the tiebreaker before saving
three set points and winning the final five points to advance.
"He doesn't have a serve where he's going to hit aces the whole
time, so I never felt like I was completely out of it," Roddick
said. "I know my serve can go in bunches, two at a time sometimes.
So I was just concentrating on trying to get a point each time on
his serve."
Roddick will face No. 12 Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals.
Gasquet defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.
(China Daily via AP July 5, 2007)