Serena hops into final

LONDON – Second seed Serena Williams recovered from match point down to beat Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva 6-7 7-5 8-6 in a nailbiting semi-final at Wimbledon yesterday.

In a tournament where spectacular tennis has been conspicuous by its absence from the women’s draw, the two produced a semi-final worthy of the name with a riveting display of power-hitting from the baseline and wily court craft.
Both players got off to a nervous start, each losing their opening service games, before the Russian became the first player to take a set off the American at the All England Club this year by winning the tiebreak 7-4.
Serena levelled the match when a series of aces got her out of trouble when serving at 6-5 in the second before Dementieva, the Olympic singles champion, broke to lead 3-1 in the decider.
The Russian missed match point when a slight netcord helped a Williams volley into play. The American then broke to lead 7-6 and duly held serve to book a place in her fifth final. She will face her sister Venus in Saturday’s final.
* Meanwhile, Andy Murray’s much-vaunted returning skills will be tested to breaking point at Wimbledon on Friday while Roger Federer faces a more subtle examination from a man in too much of a hurry to be blinded by reputation.
Murray’s semi-final against the resurgent Andy Roddick is one of those irresistible meetings of players with perfectly contrasting strengths.
Murray, aiming to become the first Briton to reach the men’s singles final at Wimbledon since Bunny Austin in 1938, has been hailed as one of the best returners of serve on grass. Roddick, the 26-year-old American, has a serve that is a huge weapon on any surface.
Federer’s semi-final will test his intelligence as much as his reactions as he takes on Tommy Haas, the 31-year-old German who is basking in the warmth of an unexpected Indian summer.
While Federer aims for his 15th grand slam singles title, an achievement that would take him out on his own ahead of Pete Sampras, Haas is eager to make up for lost time.
The German has come here for once injury-free and he has lit up the championships by mixing classic serve-and-volley with wit and innovation from the back of the court.
Haas let Federer off the hook when they met at the French Open, letting the Swiss come back from two sets and break-point down, and with that heroic tussle still fresh in everyone’s mind their meeting on Friday will have added piquancy. – Nampa-AFP