June 29, 2005
Wimbledon Semifinal Profile: Venus Williams
"Whoever I go out on the court against, I feel like there's a very good
chance that I'm going to win as long as I play well."
WIMBLEDON, England - Through the years, Wimbledon has always been a focal
point on the tennis calendar for Venus Williams, but things didn't begin all
too smoothly for the 25-year-old at the grass court event. After losing in
the first round of her 1997 debut, she suffered emotionally-charged
quarterfinal losses in 1998 to eventual champion Jana Novotna and in 1999 to
former seven-time champion Steffi Graf.
It was at the All-England Club in 2000 that Williams proved her greatness,
ousting world No.1 Martina Hingis in three sets en route to the final, where
she defeated world No.2 Linsday Davenport in straight sets for her very first
Grand Slam title. After successfully defending her title in 2001 with a
three-set championship victory over Justine Henin-Hardenne, she was a
runner-up to sister Serena in each of the next two years. In 2004, she
suffered her earliest exit since her debut with a second round loss in two
tie-breaks to Croatian teenager Karolina Sprem. The match was marred by
controversy in the second set tie-break, as an extra point was mistakenly
awarded to Sprem at an inopportune time for Williams.
This year, Williams has rebounded from last year's result and is the lone
survivor of one of the toughest Grand Slam quarters in recent memory. The
American's No.14 seeding meant that she could have potentially faced
No.4-seeded sister Serena in the fourth round and No.7 seed Henin-Hardenne in
the quarterfinals, all just for a place in the final four of a Grand Slam.
Fortunately for Williams, a path to the semifinals was cleared by early
departures of Serena, a two-time Wimbledon winner and seven-time Grand Slam
champion, and Henin-Hardenne, the reigning French Open winner and four-time
Grand Slam champion. A four-time Grand Slam champion herself, Venus Williams
is set on capitalizing on the opening as she takes on defending champion
Maria Sharapova in the semifinals on Thursday.
"I'm always playing well, to be quite honest," said Williams when asked about
the difference between her seeding and her form. "I lost a lot of points in
the clay court season. I couldn't go to some tournaments to defend points, so
I fell out of the Top 10 because of that, too. Then I didn't play that great
at the French. This is really my normal ranking."
"I definitely feel the field has improved a lot, but I also know when I play
my best that I feel like I'm still a step ahead."
Williams has not dropped a set en route to the final four this year at the
All-England Club. The former No.1 dispatched 111th-ranked lucky loser Eva
Birnerova 62 64 in the first round and 121st-ranked Nicole Pratt 75 63 in the
second round, before toughing out another 75 63 victory in the third round
against No.20 seed Daniela Hantuchova. In the fourth round, she routed
85th-ranked Jill Craybas, who had ousted Serena the round before, by a score
of 60 62. In the quarterfinals on Tuesday, she survived a late charge by
No.12 seed Mary Pierce of France, saving five set points in the second set
tie-break to advance to her 14th career Grand Slam semifinal with a 60 76(10)
victory.
"It was a tough second set," said Williams on her match with Pierce, who is a
recent runner-up at Roland Garros. "I played really well in the first set. I
think she played well, too, but maybe she just wasn't expecting me to play as
well as I did. To pull that out and not have to go to the third is really
good. And, plus, she was playing unbelievable. I mean that could have been a
finals match, how well she played.
"She just really picked up the level of her game, and after facing five set
points or what have you, that was just a great win."
At this year's event, Williams has been playing the offensive tennis that
carried her to the Wimbledon final for four straight years, as suggested by
her match statistics through the first five rounds. She has maintained a high
72% average first serve percentage, winning on nearly three quarters of the
points that have followed, and she has blasted a total of 14 aces to just 11
double faults. In addition, she has won the point on over 75% of her net
approaches.
Next up for Williams is Sharapova, to whom she has lost to in both their
prior encounters. The Russian teenager emerged victorious in straight sets in
the quarterfinals at Zurich last year, and in the semifinals at Miami earlier
this season.
"She definitely strikes the ball well, and is a very determined player," said
Williams on Sharapova. "Just a good player all around."
"I feel like I deserve to be in the semifinal. I've definitely raised my
game. I think in the first week I didn't get to hit a lot of balls also, and
that was a good thing. I'm just looking forward to raising my game in this
next round."
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