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| 02 Jul 2003 | |
| Day Eight: The Fab Four |
The top four women seeds have made it to the semifinals of Wimbledon. Something like that is not an everyday occurance, in fact the last time the top four women seeds got to the semis at the All England Lawn Tennis Club was in 1995. On that occasion the line up was 1. Steffi Graf, 2 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, 3. Conchita Martinez and 4. Jana Novotna.
This time it is Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Venus Williams and Justine
Henin-Hardenne who have lived up to the expectations of most people.
Clijsters was the first one through. The second seed lost her first set of
the tournament, coming back from 57 against Silvia Farina Elia to thrash
the Italian 60 61. She said that it took her a bit of time to adjust to the
type of play Farina Elia produced with the various slices, etc. She was
hitting her forehands deep and Clijsters was being kept on the back foot
and off balance.
But then, just after the changeover in the ninth game of the first set something bizarre happened. Clijsters was stung on the stomach by a bee and she got a bit "confused" and not sure whether to call for the trainer. However, when she realised there would be no allergic reactions she was fine. By that stage the second seed was managing to find her footwork she began to get the upper hand. She played exceptionally well.
"It’s great. It’s a good feeling to be in another semi, and especially here," said Clijsters.
"I think this is the Grand Slam that really means a lot to me. I really enjoy playing here. Overall I’m happy with the way my level has been, compared to the last few years. That’s definitely been a big, big change for me."
Venus Williams looked incredibly happy with her 62 26 61 win over Lindsay Davenport. It takes their career head-to-head to 12-10 in Venus’ favour but more importantly she has now won nine of their last ten matches. This was a very good match and if it had not been interrupted by rain after the first couple of games it might have been even better. Both women were striking the ball so well, hitting it hard and really clean.
"I had to fight very hard and the second set went so fast," said Venus.
"I didn’t want the third to go that fast unless it was, of course, my way. But
I had to get in there and fight. Lindsay played very well.
"I just tried to do whatever it took. I could see we both were there pressuring each other’s serve to break serve. So when I got that first break, I tried to keep
rolling with it."
Venus said the last time she had so much confidence in her game was
probably in Australia earlier this year, but since then she has had a few
injuries like the abdominal one that marred her French Open chances. But
winning some matches has brought back the confidence.
"I think my level of play is high enough to definitely play well against
any competitor," said Venus.
"At this point I’m not thinking about winning or losing, I’m just thinking about going out there and executing on my shots and in my game."
Henin-Hardenne was the only one of the four to win their quarterfinal match
in straight sets and she did that with a 62 62 win over Svetlana Kuznetsova. The Belgian knew she played a much better match than her previous rounds. She said she had felt it picking up when she played Mary Pierce and she knew that focus was going to be crucial against Kuznetsova because it was a dangerous match.
"It’s true that I’m playing good on grass. I was in the final two years
ago, in the semis last year, semis again this year," said Henin-Hardenne.
"For sure it’s a surface I like to play on because it’s very specific. I think that my game is good for grass. But I agree too that clay is better for myself because I have more time to organise my game, to have good defence. But when I play tactically good, I think that the grass is maybe my best surface."
The recently crowned French Open champion explained that she played so
aggressively was because she is building her game with every match and she
knew Serena was waiting in the next round. She was moving to the net a bit
more.
"It’s gonna be another match, another semifinal," said Henin-Hardenne of
her repeat clash with Serena, having beaten Serena at the French Open.
"I just want to say I’m really happy to be again in a semifinal, especially
after the French Open because the break was very, very short. I think that
mentally and physically, I proved that I’m good right now. I was so motivated today."
Serena climbed back into the match with Jennifer Capriati after Capriati
won the first set 62. Serena then picked up her level of play to win 62 63 and set up the rematch with Henin-Hardenne from the French Open that ended so controversially, and left Williams in tears after the crowd turned on her vocally.
She said that match was so long ago that she has forgotten about it and
"what happened in Paris, stayed in Paris", but one sensed a slight chill in
the air that all was not quite forgotten. She said the Capriati match was
of a very high quality and it will ready her for the semifinals.
"Jennifer came out off the bat just blowing everything away and I knew that
I just had to raise the level of my game if I wanted to stay in the competition because she was playing so well," said Serena. "Usually that’s what I have to do, I have to raise my game in order to stay in with her."
Asked if the upcoming match against the Belgian will be a case of trying to
get revenge, she said: "No, not at all. I’m just here to play the game and
enjoy myself and have fun."
The last men’s fourth round match which was interrupted the day before by
bad light was won by Sebastien Grosjean - he defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero
62 46 76 76 and will play Tim Henman.
If you want to follow the action as it happens, with live scores and results, then please visit the Official Website at www.wimbledon.org.
The Junior Tournament is now underway. Please visit www.itfjuniors.com for daily wrap-ups and the latest pictures.
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