Just as we were running out of superlatives for Serena Williams in the second singles semifinal, that Victoria Azarenka broke Serena’s serve to come back on level terms at 3-3 in the second set, first set to Serena. It was level pegging into the tie break with Azarenka gaining some ascendancy in the baseline rallies.
But in the end it was the Serena serve, perhaps the most mechanically efficient ever in the women’s game, that did the trick. On match point for Serena, ace down the center line. In all Serena served 24 aces, averaging two a game. It is hard to remember a match where such a high percentage of aces have been hit.
And then there were the service winners and blistering ground strokes. When Serena Williams plays, the opponent ceases to matter. If Serena is on her game, as she was in most of today’s semifinal, no player in tennis history can stay with her.
In the other semifinal, the crafty Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland was too consistent for her good friend Angelique Kerber. Kerber had played an incredible match to defeat Sabine Lisicki in the quarters and that long match may have had a lingering effect on her semifinal performance. Kerber led 3-1 in the first set but Radwanska then broke back and pulled away with some error free tennis.
The final between Serena and Radwanska will depend entirely on how Serena Williams serves. If her serves are going in and her ground strokes are finding their range, then Radwanska’s role may be reduced to that of a spectator. The Polish girl is going to have to stay with Serena and hope that the American cools down and then reel her in with her crafty ground game. But Radwanska’s serve is weak and could be attacked by Serena.
With Serena playing as she did today, it should be straight sets for the American.
There are a couple of intriguing semi finals in store on Friday. Roger Federer plays Novak Djokovic while England’s Andy Murray carries his countrymen’s hopes against the likeable Frenchman Jo Wilfried Tsonga. Tsonga was impressive as he cruised past Phillip Kohlschreiber in four sets. He has found maturity and self belief ever since he held four match points against Djokovic at the French Open. His game and his temperament is steadier and allied to his natural power and athleticism, could be irresistable for Murray. Murray struggled to get past David Ferrer in the quarters and is in the semis for the third year in a row. He would dearly hope to go one better. The last Englishman to reach the Wimbledon finals was Bunny Austin in 1938 and the last to win was Fred Perry in 1936. This weight of history will be on Murray’s shoulders as he steps on the center court tomorrow.
In yesterday’s post match interview, Roger Federer denied there being any tension between him and Novak Djokovic. He blamed the press for turning a small issue into a montain. But relations between the two are civil but not necessarily warm and there could be sparks on the court. Djokovic trails 14-12 in their meetings but has won six of the last seven. This is the first time they are playing on grass. Roger should have the edge but he seems to have developed a mental block against Nadal and Djokovic. He will have to bring his best game on court if he is to beat the top seed. Should federer win and then go on to win the title, he will be number one in the world.
Aisam Qureshi generated some controversy following his Mixed Doubles loss in the second round. He and Hlavackova were upset by Fleming and Hsieh in a three set match on court 18. Following the match, Aisam refused to shake hands with the umpire and sat around even when the umpire and all the other players had left.It is not known what provoked this uncharacteristic behavior.