Wimbledon 2009

Venus Williams's heavily strapped left leg has been a big talking point of The Championships and the defending champion showed signs of a limp as she booked her place in the ladies doubles semi-finals with sister Serena.
Again she took to No. 2 Court with industrial strength taping above and below her left knee but if she was in discomfort it appeared to do little to affect her performance as she and Serena disposed of 12th seeds Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Vania King 6-2, 7-5.
Serena took to the court in a three-quarter length top – an interesting choice considering the sweltering conditions – and also with taping of her own: a strapped right wrist and ankle supports.
The sisters have a string of Grand Slam doubles titles to their name – three Wimbledon titles, one French Open, one US Open and three Australian Opens.
And here it was evident why. Dominant, aggressive play saw the Americans threaten their opponents from the start, although it was not until the fourth game that they broke serve – thanks to a winning lob by Serena. That was when father Richard, who had been observing the proceedings from the competitor's guest box, decided to whip out his camera.
However, he seemed more intent on snapping the spectators and the new arena rather than his daughters who were watertight at the net and firing bullets on serve.
The German and USA duo challenged a call on set point – they had nothing to lose – but the result failed to go their way. The ball was out and the set belonged to Williamses.
When the sisters broke at the same point in the second set the arena was at near full capacity and father Richard opted to shelter from the sun's blistering rays under a blue umbrella.
It was then that Lena-Groenfeld and King started to up their game, attacking the net well to win two games on the trot and break Venus as she served for the set at 5-3. Soon the set was level at 5-5.
But the 12th seeds were unable to maintain the intensity and the Williamses earned a place in the doubles semi-final for the fourth time in their career.
 
The player known as "the mosquito" was on the receiving end of a painful sting from Andy Murray as the number three seed beat Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 on Centre Court. The authoritative victory over the former world number one puts Murray through to his first Wimbledon semi-final.

In the first set it seemed that Ferrero was intent on avoiding a repeat of their one career encounter to date, last month at Queen's where Murray wrapped up a simple straight sets victory. True, the Spaniard had a couple of jitters at the outset, and he pushed a half-volley long to give Murray an early chance to break. But the chance went by.

Oddly at this stage many rows of the Centre Court were empty, with some in the crowd permitting themselves a short break from the sizzling July heat after witnessing Roger Federer's earlier victory over Ivo Karlovic.

Murray was winning his serve with ease, and Ferrero was having to work much harder to hold on to his. But nonetheless the Spaniard was playing a canny game. As late as 5-5 it seemed possible he could snatch the set. With Murray seeming a little heavy after his marathon Monday night victory over Stanislas Wawrinka, the loss of the set could have been an important blow.

But it didn't happen. At 5-6 Ferrero left the court open for a Murray passing shot. One point later the Scot got a lucky netcord, and he then he brought up set point at 40-30 with a powerful crosscourt forehand that left his opponent stranded. That one went by, but a backhand return brought up another opportunity, whereupon Ferrero delivered his first double fault of the day.

Early in the second, it all seemed to be going wrong for Murray. In the first game Ferrero produced a forehand crosscourt winner to bring up two break points. The Scot pulled out the fastest serve – 132mph – of the tournament so far to rescue the first. But when he put a backhand in the net on the second, the game and the break belonged to the Spaniard.

The turning point came out of the blue with Murray at 1-3 deuce, when he won an astonishing 20 of the next 21 points. He was helped by the 2003 Roland Garros champion delivering his second double fault of the match at exactly the wrong moment to put the set back on serve, but a newly energised Murray was making no mistakes and a deflated Ferrero could not stay with him.

Ferrero has enjoyed a resurgence this year. He was given a wild card here on the basis of his ranking of 115 in May. But a good Roland Garros took him to number 70, and before this match he was assured of a spot in the top 40 when the new rankings come out next Monday. For Murray the stakes are higher. He can take the number two spot from Roger Federer by winning the title here – and if he does, he will be a mere five points short of Rafael Nadal's tally at number one.

Ferrero, who has never made the last four at Wimbledon, needed to state his case early in the third set if he was to stay in the match. Instead, break point chances were coming Murray's way. Ferrero delivered a delightful dropshot to save the third of these at 2-2. But a fourth was too much and Murray converted it with a forehand that he made look straightforward.

He was playing so briskly between points that it was clear he wanted to spend as little time as possible baking beneath the sapping heat of the Centre Court. Moreover, he was overwhelming Ferrero on the Spaniard's serve, and broke him to love for 5-2.

In the end he required just one hour and 41 minutes to complete a comprehensive victory.
 
Ms. S.Williams has just beaten Ms. Dementieva in a fiercely contested match..She was really against all odds in 40 Celsius degree daylight and she shown how she is a poacher..

6-7,7-5, 8-6

Go Serena!!
 
Big Sister V. Williams have taken the first set and leading 3-0 in the second..Seems just another grand finale of the two sisters is almost in.
 
Naona Waingereza wana matumaini sana na Andy Murray ,je ataweza kubeba Ubingwa wa Wimbledon
 
We seem to have been here before: another Wimbledon final, another Williams family showdown. For the second year running and the fifth time in all, Venus and Serena will contest the ladies' final on Saturday.
The sisters are as close as sisters can be and yet they appear, in many ways, to be polar opposites. Venus is tall and rangy, a physique that has helped her become the best grass court player of her generation, while Serena is shorter, more muscular and more obviously aggressive in her approach to the pursuit of Grand Slam titles. Not that Venus is a shrinking violet on the court – far from it – it is just that she tends to keep her thoughts and her emotions to herself.
The two sisters also took vastly differing routes to their Saturday appointment. Serena played the best match of the Ladies' Championship so far – and the longest recorded for a semi-final here – by beating Elena Dementieva 6-7, 7-5, 8-6 while Venus took only 51 minutes to beat Dinara Safina 6-1, 6-0.
The sisters were, however, united in one thing: they both put on a masterclass in the art of being a champion.
For Serena, it was a case of passion and courage being just enough to bring her through the toughest of tests. Dementieva ran her ragged, she harassed and harried the world number two and she proved herself to be a fighter every bit as determined as Serena. And Serena still won. Just. But that is what champions do.
For Dementieva, the fact that she was able to match Serena for nearly three hours was some comfort while the fact that she had served well – never one of her strengths in the past – and kept pace with the raw power of her rival was a positive sign. "For sure I feel disappointed but it was a very close match," Dementieva said. "But I think the way I was playing is more important than the result."
Safina was not able to pick many positive bones out of her thrashing at the hands of Venus. The world number one, who is still desperately looking for her first Grand Slam title, was absolutely walloped and she knew it. "I think she gave me a pretty good lesson today," Safina said.
So that left Venus and Serena to go home to the house they are sharing in Wimbledon and to try to plan their respective campaigns for Saturday. To the outsider observer, it sounds like an impossible task – most sisters can fall out over the smallest things and an illicitly borrowed bottle of shampoo can cause a major family argument.
How on earth can two sisters ponder playing each other for the biggest prize in the sport? Simple: spend 12 years of your life playing your sister in tournaments around the world and just get used to it. It does, apparently get a little easier with time.
"It's different [now to when we were young] because we're different players," Venus said. "We both play such a similar game. I mean, we had the same teacher. But what I can tell you the same is the respect that we have for each other on and off the court is the same."
Yes, we have been here before but, rest assured, Venus and Serena know how it is done. Last year's final was one of their most competitive and Venus won. This year, Serena wants revenge. Tune in on Saturday for episode 21 of the Venus and Serena show.
 
Roger Federer amemshinda T.Haas kwa set 3 kwa bila, Mechi imekwisha na Roger atacheza final na mshindi kati ya Andy Murray na Andy Roddick.
 
Abdulhalim said:
Steve, who do you prefer between the two Williams? i mean in terms of personality and sportwomanship?
Click to expand...
Serena is beutiful. Wewe akinyanyua ile kishiko chake cha kucheza anaachia kwapa nje-Muangalie Serena huyo!!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar Discussions

Back
Top Bottom
Forums
New posts
Post thread
Back