Wimbledon Capsules: Venus, Serena Williams reach Wimbledon semifinals

WIMBLEDON, England - Her 19th consecutive victory at the All England Club already wrapped up, Venus Williams grabbed a seat and watched younger sister Serena win easily to reach the semifinals, too.

Afterward, Venus and Mom, Oracene Price, strolled out of Centre Court arm-in-arm, chatting and laughing.

Sure is fun to be a Williams at Wimbledon.

Five-time champion Venus beat No. 11-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 6-2, before two-time champion Serena defeated No. 8 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-2, 6-3, a pair of overwhelming performances Tuesday that moved the siblings closer to another all-in-the-family final at Wimbledon.

"They are both playing super-well. They're playing 'The Williams Way,'" their father, Richard Williams, said. "And when you're playing 'The Williams Way,' it's very difficult for anyone to touch you."

Particularly at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament, where a Williams has won seven of the past nine championships.

If No. 3 Venus gets by No. 1 Dinara Safina of Russia in Thursday's semifinals, and No. 2 Serena eliminates No. 4 Elena Dementieva of Russia, the siblings would meet Saturday in their second consecutive final at the All England Club and fourth overall.

It also would be the eighth all-Williams Grand Slam championship match; Serena leads 5-2.

"I would love it to be a Williams final," Venus said, "and so would she."

They are competitors, of course, but also form a team in many ways: The sisters are sharing a house during this tournament, practice with each other and have reached the women's doubles quarterfinals together.

"We've got it all figured out at this point," Venus said.

She is trying to become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1991-93 to win three consecutive Wimbledon titles; Serena wants to add to the trophies she earned in 2002-03 by beating her sister in the finals.

At least one person has no doubt there will be a rematch Saturday.

"It will be. I'll go home because I can't watch," their dad said. "I think they both definitely make it to the final."

First things first. If the 19-year-old Azarenka and 20-year-old Radwanska represented up-and-coming opponents with little experience on the sport's grandest stages - neither has reached a Grand Slam semifinal - Safina and Dementieva are far more accustomed to playing significant matches.

On the other hand, they're not nearly as accustomed to winning them as the Williams sisters are, of course: Serena owns 10 major titles, Venus seven; Safina and Dementieva have zero.

Safina, who lost in the final at three of the previous five Grand Slam events, overcame 15 double-faults and wore down 41st-ranked Sabine Lisicki of Germany 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1. Dementieva, twice a runner-up at major championships and a singles gold medalist at last year's Beijing Olympics, was never challenged by 43rd-ranked Francesca Schiavone of Italy and won their quarterfinal 6-2, 6-2.

Asked about her double-fault total, Safina replied with a smile: "15? I thought it was much more. Sometimes even I don't know what I'm doing with my serve."

As the younger sister of former No. 1 Marat Safin, who lost in the first round at what he vows was his last Wimbledon, Safina knows about sibling success. But after losing the French Open final a few weeks ago, she acknowledged cracking under the pressure of trying to win her first major.

Looking ahead to facing Venus, against whom she is 1-2, Safina said, "I cannot go on court thinking I lost already. No, definitely, I think I have a chance there."

Dementieva also sounded a brave tone, despite accumulating more unforced errors (18) than winners (13).

"I just want to see how tough I can be out there against her," said Dementieva, who lost to Venus in last year's Wimbledon semifinals and now takes on Serena. "Just looking for some good fight."

Radwanska and Azarenka failed to make things difficult for the Williams sisters, who were at their dominant best.

"Not perfect," Price said, "but pretty close."Radwanska was playing in her third Grand Slam quarterfinal, 27 fewer than Venus, and while she upset Maria Sharapova at the 2007 U.S. Open, a stunner of that magnitude never seemed a possibility Tuesday. Venus won the first five games and the last six, compiling a 29-6 edge in winners.

Pounding aces at up to 122 mph, Venus won 16 of 18 points on her serve in the first set on a steamy day, the temperature about 90 degrees and not a cloud overhead at Court 1.

"Her tennis is so powerful," Radwanska said. "Very hard to do anything."

It took all of 68 minutes, leaving Venus ample time to shower, change, do postmatch interviews and still make it into the guest box for Serena's match.

Azarenka hits the ball quite hard herself, letting out a grunt that sounds something like "Whoop!", but she couldn't keep up. She even felt compelled to clap after a couple of Serena's best strokes.

"She really showed the unbeatable Serena," Azarenka acknowledged.

Azarenka did break for a 3-2 lead in the second set, but Serena didn't let her win another game. When Serena smacked one last forehand winner, she jogged to the net, pumping her fists. Up in the stands, Venus stood and applauded.

"We definitely upped our level of game today," said Serena, who hit nine aces. "We had really tough opponents, so we had to."

On Thursday, two more opponents will try to slow a pair of sisters who began playing tennis twenty-something years ago in Compton, Calif., and have made the most famous grass courts in the world their personal playground.

One particular family will be hoping for an all-Williams final. One nation will be pulling for an all-Russian final.

Dementieva proposed a unique alternative, asking: "Can we play just two finals instead?"

Safina advances despite struggling with serve

WIMBLEDON, England - Dinara Safina served balls long, dumped quite a few into the net and put several wide. She once even served to the wrong half of the court.

Despite her 15 double-faults, though, the top-ranked Russian reached the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time by beating unseeded German teenager Sabine Lisicki 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1 Tuesday.

"I was Santa Claus on the court, serving so many double-faults," said Safina, who will face five-time champion Venus Williams on Thursday in the semifinals.

Safina struggled with all aspects of her service game on a sunny Centre Court, from her toss to her execution to even her direction.

Trailing 5-3 in the first set, Safina was serving at 30-0. After a first serve that failed to land in, she double-faulted for the sixth time by sending her second serve into the far corner of the wrong service box.

"I start the serve, but I don't end up the shot. I'm going away," Safina said. "That's why I'm serving double-faults. I'm not finishing the serve. It's kind of technical."

On set point for Lisicki in the tiebreaker, Safina double-faulted for the seventh time and then smashed her racket into the grass, drawing a code violation from the chair umpire.

"Sometimes even I don't know what I'm doing with my serve," Safina said. "I think for the serve, it's not me there serving."

Safina also complained about several line calls, and when she successfully challenged a call that would have led to yet another double-fault in the final game of the second set, she gave the chair umpire a distasteful look and uttered a comment.

The Russian won another challenge in the sixth game of the final set, shortly after she double-faulted three straight times to allow Lisicki to get to deuce. Safina hit a forehand that landed on the baseline, but it was called out. She won the challenge and then took a 5-1 lead when Lisicki put a backhand into the net.

"I was tough mentally," Safina said. "That was the key today."

The 19-year-old Lisicki played well for some of the match, even serving 12 aces - 12 more than Safina could manage. But she called for a trainer because of a calf cramp after being broken for the third straight time in the third set.

The trainer massaged Lisicki's right calf, but she won only the three points from the double-faults in the next game.

"I just went out there to fight," Lisicki said. "I gave it all I had, but she was physically fitter than me today."

In their only other meeting, Lisicki beat Safina in the first round of the 2008 Australian Open.

"Back then was the first round. Now it's the second week," Lisicki said. "I think she just knew how to handle it physically better than me."

Safina will have another tough match against the third-seeded Williams, the two-time defending champion who easily beat 11th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 6-2.

"If I play my best and she plays the best, it's 50-50 who's going to win the match," Safina said. "I don't think if I play my best tennis and she plays the best tennis that she's the favorite. I think I still have a chance."

-- Chris Lehourites

Federer to face hard-serving Karlovic at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England - Roger Federer has already been through a "serving contest" at Wimbledon this year. It's probably nothing compared to what's coming next.

Federer used the term after his fourth-round match, which included two tiebreakers and only one break of serve. Up next in Wednesday's quarterfinals is Ivo Karlovic, who makes a living smacking aces and service winner.

The 6-foot-10 Croat - the tallest player in the history of the ATP tour - has not been broken once in 79 service games this tournament and leads all players with 137 aces. He hit 46 of those in his third-round upset of No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a four-set win that included three tiebreakers.

Federer, however, has an 8-1 record against Karlovic - with 12 of the 22 sets ending in tiebreakers - despite few chances to show off his all-court game.

"I like those sorts of challenges," said Federer, who is seeking his sixth Wimbledon championship and record 15th Grand Slam title. "It's maybe not the most fun match to go through. But I like to beat this guy, because he makes it hard on us to beat him."

The quarterfinal round features players of eight nationalities, with five Grand Slam tournament winners and four former No. 1s.

Federer plays the first match on Centre Court on Wednesday, which despite his immense popularity at the All England Club is seen by many Brits as merely the opening act for the second encounter, when Andy Murray takes on Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain.

On Court 1, two veterans are trying to get back to the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time in four years. Andy Roddick, the runner-up to Federer in 2004-05, takes on Lleyton Hewitt, who won here in 2002.

The fourth matchup features the oldest remaining player against the youngest, with the 31-year-old Tommy Haas taking on 22-year-old Novak Djokovic.

Federer is coming off a win over Robin Soderling that he called "pretty much a serving contest." It was a rematch of the French Open final, when Federer completed a career Grand Slam.

Karlovic is often dismissed as a one-trick pony - he breaks serve about as seldom as he loses it - and has reached the quarterfinals for the first time in 25 career Grand Slam tournaments. Despite having two grass-court titles to his name, Karlovic was eliminated in the first round at Wimbledon the last four years.

But Federer said Karlovic has developed more aspects of his game.

"He's become an excellent player," Federer said. "Not only just his serve, he's got to have something more, otherwise he wouldn't be ranked where he is and he wouldn't be beating all those good players. He's not to be underestimated."

The problem for the top players is that a tiebreaker against Karlovic is often a coin-flip, where losing a single point on serve can be decisive. In 296 career matches, Karlovic has played 318 tiebreakers - winning 51 percent of them.

Of course, Federer wouldn't be Federer if he wasn't at his best in pressure situations, and the Swiss star has won nine of the 12 tiebreakers against Karlovic.

"The reason why he was No. 1, and also why he's maybe the best player ever, is because in the tight situations he can play his best tennis," Karlovic said. "It is difficult, sure."

Murray is coming off perhaps the most memorable match of the tournament so far, a five-set win over Stanislas Wawrinka played Monday underneath Wimbledon's new retractable roof for the latest finish ever on Centre Court.

The 22-year-old Scot has never reached the semifinals at Wimbledon but faces ever-increasing pressure from the home fans to deliver the first British men's title since Fred Perry in 1936. His win against Wawrinka - the first match played entirely under the roof - was seen by more than 12 million viewers on BBC, more than twice its average audience for that time slot.

Murray beat Ferrero, the only remaining wild card, in straight sets at Queen's Club this month, but is expecting a tougher challenge this time.

"Ferrero is a very tough player. He plays well on any surface," Murray said. "If I play poorly, there's a good chance I'll lose against him."

-- Mattias Karen

Trophy use No. 1?: Makeup brush holder

WIMBLEDON, England  - Serena Williams seems to have found a peculiar way to keep her vanity table uncluttered, even if her 33 tennis trophies, cups and plates weren't exactly designed to store her makeup brushes.

The 10-time Grand Slam champion said Tuesday she hasn't yet taken time to admire her prizes, instead putting them to a more practical use.

"I use some of my trophies for makeup brushes," Williams said after reaching the Wimbledon semifinals by beating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-2, 6-3. "Maybe (someday) I'll just take a step back and be like, 'Hmmm.' Take all the makeup brushes out and really appreciate every title and every trophy."

A smiling Williams said the best trophy for the job was the one she won in Indian Wells, Calif., in 2001. It was at that tournament the family was booed after Venus withdrew just before a semifinal match against Serena. Their father, Richard, said those jeers were racially motivated, and the sisters have boycotted that tournament since then.

Serena has won two Wimbledon championships, beating big sister Venus in the final in 2002 and '03. Venus beat Serena in last year's final.

They could meet for the 21st time in their careers on Saturday at the All England Club. Serena plays Elena Dementieva in one semifinal Thursday, while Venus faces top-ranked Dinara Safina in the other.

"Right now I'm just thinking about winning my next round, which is another tough match," Serena said.

Venus also knows what to expect if they both advance to face each other in a Grand Slam final for the eighth time.

"You have to be on your best game," said Venus, who is 2-5 against Serena in major finals, "and hopefully she might not be on her best game."

As a team, the Williams sisters are the defending doubles champions at Wimbledon. Venus said she hopes to continue playing together for many years to come.

"We've talked about playing the 2012 Olympics," Venus said. "We've talked about playing doubles in 2016, because we hope it goes to Chicago. That's pretty much where our timeline is heading."

TWO TO GO

The top-seeded men's double team of American twins Bob and Mike Bryan need two more victories to claim their second Wimbledon title.

"We're having a good time and we're feeling good," said Bob, who has won seven Grand Slam titles with his brother. "Our serves are popping, and we're holding comfortably so far. We like the way the two weeks are progressing."

The Bryans, who picked up their third Australian Open title in January, easily beat fifth-seeded Bruno Soares of Brazil and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 Tuesday in the quarterfinals.

"So far, so good, but we can't expect to win so easy the whole time," Mike said.

In the semifinals, the Bryans will face fourth-seeded Mahesh Bhupathi of India and Mark Knowles of the Bahamas, or ninth-seeded Wesley Moodie of South Africa and Dick Norman of Belgium.

Of all the Grand Slam tournaments, the Bryan brothers seem to feel the most relaxed in southwest London.

"England's where we're most comfortable," Bob said. "We love Wimbledon. We get takeout every night. We do our own laundry. We get groceries. This one feels a little bit like home."

DEFENDING THE ROOF

A day after the first match played in its entirety under a roof at Wimbledon finished, the tournament's organizers were already defending the conditions on Centre Court.

Andy Murray beat Stanislas Wawrinka under the translucent roof and stadium floodlights 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. The nearly four-hour match ended Monday at 10:39 p.m., and Murray said when it was over that the humidity was so bad "it was like I'd been in a bath."

Ian Ritchie, the chief executive of the All England Club, said Tuesday he did not think the humidity was a "great factor."

"I think he's entitled to his opinion," Ritchie said of Murray, who is trying to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936. "I'm sure on reflection he will look at what an enormous positive it was for him. If there was some humidity in the air it wasn't on the court. I think the court was bone dry."

Later Tuesday, Murray addressed the matter again via his Twitter account, writing: "one last thing...i loved playing under the roof even if you've read different! the atmosphere was amazing, just very humid."

TOO HOT

Medical officials said they treated 132 people at the All England Club on Tuesday, most of them for heat-related problems. Only one was taken to the hospital.

The temperature was about 90 degrees.

-- Chris Lehourites

Wimbledon at a glance

WIMBLEDON, England - A look at Wimbledon on Tuesday:

Weather: Sunny, high of 90 degrees.

Attendance: 38,682, a decrease of 580 from the second Tuesday in 2008.

Women's Quarterfinals: No. 1 Dinara Safina defeated Sabine Lisicki 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1, No. 2 Serena Williams beat No. 8 Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-3, No. 3 Venus Williams defeated No. 11 Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 6-2, No. 4 Elena Dementieva beat Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-2.

Stat of the Day: 15 - double-faults by Safina in her victory.

Quote of the Day: "We still, I think, are definitely the front-runners in tennis as far as, you know, being some of the best players out there." - Venus Williams, talking about herself and younger sister Serena.

On Court Wednesday: No. 2 Roger Federer vs. No. 22 Ivo Karlovic, No. 3 Andy Murray vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero, No. 4 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 24 Tommy Haas, No. 6 Andy Roddick vs. Lleyton Hewitt in the men's quarterfinals.

Wednesday's Forecast: Sunny, high of 88 degrees.

Wednesday's TV: ESPN2, 6-9 a.m. and noon-4 p.m.; NBC, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., all time zones.

On the Web: http://www.wimbledon.org

Elsewhere

Nadal left off Spain team for Davis Cup

LONDON - Top-ranked Rafael Nadal was left off Spain's team for the Davis Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday because of sore knees.

Nadal has struggled with tendinitis in his knees, which forced him to skip defending his Wimbledon title. He has not played a tour match since losing in the fourth round at the French Open.

Fernando Verdasco, Tommy Robredo, David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez will represent Spain when the defending champions host Germany on outdoor clay in Marbella, the International Tennis Federation said.

In the other quarterfinals from July 10-12, it's Czech Republic vs. Argentina; Croatia vs. United States; and Israel vs. Russia.

Germany will play without Wimbledon quarterfinalist Tommy Haas and go with Philipp Kohlschreiber, Nicolas Kiefer, Mischa Zverev and Andreas Beck.

The 32-time champion Americans will again use Andy Roddick, James Blake, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan when they visit Croatia. They will face Marin Cilic, Ivo Karlovic, Roko Karanusic and Lovro Zovko on indoor clay in Porec.

Tomas Berdych, Radek Stepanek, Ivo Minar and Lukas Dlouhy will lead the Czechs on hard indoor courts in Ostrava against Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro, Jose Acasuso, Leonardo Mayer and Juan Monaco.

Israel, which made the Davis Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 1987, will be represented by Dudi Sela, Harel Levy, Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram on indoor hard courts in Tel Aviv. Russia's lineup will be Dmitry Tursunov, Marat Safin, Igor Andreev and Mikhail Youzhny.

Karlovic, Cilic in Davis Cup for Croatia vs U.S.

ZAGREB, Croatia - Wimbledon quarterfinalist Ivo Karlovic and Marin Cilic have been selected for Croatia's Davis Cup team against the United States.

Croatia, which won the Davis Cup in 2005, will face James Blake, Andy Roddick and the Bryan brothers in the July 10-12 quarterfinal on indoor clay in Porec, Croatia.

Karlovic advanced to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon on Monday by beating Fernando Verdasco. He faces five-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer on Wednesday.

Croatia has beaten the U.S. twice in Davis Cup competition.