Serena, seeking a fourth singles title at the All England Club, looked in no mood to follow suit in a high-quality encounter on Centre Court. She took advantage of her only break-point in the 11th game before serving out for the opener after 45 minutes and stormed home in the second, after which Li’s forehand went wide to give her victory. She will play Estonian qualifier Kaia Kanepi or Czech Petra Kvitova for a place in Saturday’s final.
Venus ousted
Five-time champion Venus Williams suffered a shock 6-2, 6-3 defeat against unseeded Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova in the quarter-finals despite not dropping a single set in the first four rounds. Venus has never failed to reach the women’s single final at Wimbledon since Jelena Jankovic defeated her in the third round in 2006. However, the US second-seed was completely outplayed by Pironkova, the world number 82, in the most remarkable result of this year’s Championships.
Venus’s huge serve and booming backhands failed to rescue her as Pironkova, who is the lowest ranked woman left in the draw and has never won a title on the main WTA tour, used her quick court coverage and clever use of the angles to keep the American from finding her rhythm. Eighth-seed Kim Clijsters was another big name who was sent packing out of the tournament to Russia’s Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 4-6, 2-6.
Nadal in last-eight
World number one Rafael Nadal booked his place in the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, win over France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu on Monday as Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun sent Andy Roddick crashing out in the fourth round with a stunning 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (5/7), 9-7 win over the three-time finalist.
Published in The Express Tribune, June, 30th, 2010.
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