|
LONDON: Venus and Serena Williams, who boast six Wimbledon titles
between them, will clash for the third time in an All England Club
final on Saturday.
Venus, the four-time winner and defending
champion, booked her place with a 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) win over Russian
fifth seed Elena Dementieva to reach her seventh singles final.
Serena, the younger of the two sisters, then
ended wildcard Zheng Jie’s hopes of becoming the first Chinese
player to reach a Grand Slam final with a battling 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
win.
The 26-year-old Serena will be looking to
complete a hat-trick of Wimbledon wins over her sister having come
out on top in the 2002 and 2003 finals.
Venus insists the final will be fully
competitive despite skep-ticism in the past over whether the two
perform to the maximum of their ability when they share the same
court.
“I find the question pretty offensive because
I’m extre-mely professional in everything that I do on and off the
court,” said Venus, the holder of six Grand Slam titles.
“I contribute my best in my sport, and I also
have a ton of respect for myself and my family. So any mention of
that is extremely disrespectful for who I am and my family.”
Serena, 11-kilos heavier and more than 11-cm
taller than Zheng, had too much brawn for the world 133, who had
made her mark by knocking out top seed Ana Ivanovic in the third
round.
“She pushed me and really played a great
match,” said Serena of an opponent she had comfortably defeated in
the first round here four years ago.
Zheng was left to regret a great opportunity to
take the semifinal to a decider when she held set point in the 10th
game of the second set but Williams was able to call on her powerful
smash to rescue herself.
“She played like she had nothing to lose. I
was able to hit a smash on that set point. I didn’t really want to
go into a third set,” added the American sixth seed who will be
facing her sister in a seventh Grand Slam final.
“I’m looking forward to playing Venus in the
final. She’ll be the toughest opponent I have faced.
“We haven’t played each other in a Grand
Slam final for five years but that’s because our rankings fell or
we were in the same side of the draw. I guess this is a new start
for both of us.”
Serena’s last Wimbledon final appearance was
in 2004, when she lost to a teenage Maria Sharapova.
-- AFP
|
