Sharapova edged out Coco Vandeweghe in three sets, then admitted it would prove “an incredible moment” to meet Williams on Centre Court, some 11 years after toppling the American for the 2004 crown.
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The Serena Williams versus Maria Sharapova Wimbledon semifinal match on Thursday is unquestionably “the” game to watch.
Now, at the age 28, Sharapova can reminisce about how she got the better of the American 20-time grand slam victor twice in 2004, when she took the scalp of Williams in the finals of Wimbledon and the WTA Tour Championships.
“It was a high-quality match”, Azarenka told reporters.
Fans and celebrities alike watching at home took to Twitter to vent their frustration.
“Definitely no secrets between each other s games”, she said.
Williams has banned talk of the Grand Slam from her press conferences in an attempt not to tense up with expectation. She won despite double-faulting 10 times and posting more unforced errors (23) than winners (20). I think I bring out the best in her.
The Williams-Azarenka match featured high-quality tennis and spectacular corner-to-corner rallies.
When the match eventually re-started, 16 hours and 33 minutes after the last point had been played, Djokovic was immediately back in the line of fire.
Gasquet, a ex- world junior champion who has fallen short of the heights expected of him, served for the match at 5-3 in the fifth set but fourth seed Wawrinka broke back, gesturing with a finger pointed to his head that he had the mental edge.
“What I experienced, what I felt from her moving around in between my serving motion was not, I don’t think, sportsmanlike, in my opinion”.
She looked dead and buried against Britain’s Heather Watson in the deciding set and produced her best display of the tournament in a high-quality 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win to finally nullify Victoria Azarenka yesterday.
It will be the first Grand Slam semifinal for the 21-year-old Muguruza, who reached the quarterfinals at the last two French Opens. Overall Serena hit an impressive 17 aces, which compared to Azarenka’s 7 became an overwhelming factor in her win. Either I stayed ahead or I was able to make the difference.
Unlike the other quarterfinalists, Djokovic didn’t have Tuesday off after his fourth-round match against Kevin Anderson was held over for bad light at two sets all Monday night.
“When I walk out on the court, I look around, I see the spectators, I see the new roof which wasn’t there when I won, you really feel that special feeling”.
The Venezuelan-born Spaniard bumped into her adopted country’s superstar actor Antonio Banderas at Wimbledon.
I knew it would be a tough match.
Vandeweghe alleged Sharapova – renowned for her grunts and screams on court – kept jumping around just as she was about to serve.
Bopanna and Mergea hit 31 winners, 17 of which were aces, and saved three of the five break points they faced in the match.
It took 45 minutes of play Tuesday for Djokovic to advance to his 25th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal with a 6-7 (6), 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4, 7-5 victory.
Muguruza beat Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky 7-5 6-3 to reach her first major semi-final.
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Serena Williams is two wins away from holding all four grand slam titles – however much she hates thinking about the prospect of repeating her special achievement of 12 years ago – and, with chilling inevitability, it was her friend Victoria Azarenka who served as a stepping stone, albeit a noble one in defeat.
