image: Zuma Press

I’m sure it’s strange to play against each other (and even difficult since they are both so skilled and competitive) but I’m also sure that it felt great for Serena to beat her big sister in the fourth all-Williams final.

Venus could have become the first woman to win the tournament for three years in a row since the 1991-1993 winning streak of Steffi Graf.  This is Serena’s third win in London and her first in six years.  After falling to her knees in celebration, Serena hugged her sister at the net.

image: TSN

“It feels so amazing,” she said. “I feel so blessed. I feel like I shouldn’t be holding the trophy. It’s named for Venus and she always wins.”

Congratulations, Serena!

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Serena Beats Venus, Wins Wimbledon

The 26-year-old will have his work cut out for him when he faces five-time champion, Roger Federer, who has set a record for making the championship match at Wimbledon seven times in a row.  Federer defeated Tommy Haas of Germany 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 6-3 in the semifinals.

image: Zuma Press

Federer and Roddick have quite a history.  The American lost to the Swiss superstar in the 2004 and 2005 finals at Wimbledon and out of the 20 times the pair have met, Federer won 18 matches (including a flawless 3-0 record in 2009).

The 2009 Wimbledon champ will get to take home $1.39 million.

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Federer vs. Roddick at Wimbledon Final

image: Zuma Press

Venus took down Dinara Safina in a predictable semifinal match. Venus Williams has won 35 straight sets for an incredible record – she hasn’t lost on Centre Court since 2004.  That’s unbelievable!  Meanwhile, 23-year-old Safina incurred 16 unforced errors in the lopsided 6-1, 6-0 loss. At least it was over quickly – Venus destroyed the world No.1 in just 51 minutes!

The battle between Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva was a lot more interesting.  While the pair traded breaks in the first couple games and then went head-to-head for the rest of the thrilling match.  Right down to the final set, the intensity was incredible and it looked like Dementieva might take it after Williams double faulted but in the end, Williams walked away with a 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 8-6 victory over the Olympic gold medalist.

The Williams sisters, who will meet for the 21st time, have dominated the finals at Wimbledon for seven of the last nine years.  I’m sure it will be an amazing match!

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Venus vs. Serena at Wimbledon Finals

Now, because the ball boys and girls have reported flu-like symptoms, the top players have been warned to be on high alert.  Of course, to add to the drama, the announcement came on the same day that a “nine-year-old girl became the third person to contract the [H1N1] virus and die in Britain.”  In case you are unfamiliar with the technical name, H1N1 is what many people are calling the “swine flu.”

Not only is this awful since it can affect the results of the tournament (and the health of the athletes), it can also contribute to the spread of the disease since these players and their trainers will continue to travel around the world to compete.

Some star players have spoken out about the news.  Venus Williams said: “I guess there are sicknesses around, hopefully the players won’t get sick.  Hopefully our immune systems are strong enough, that’s what they are there for. We’re going to all put ours in use, take vitamin C and keep playing.”

Roger Federer basically summed up my own thoughts: “It is not good news, especially for the players travelling round the world, meeting so many people, it is not a good thing.  But I am sure the club is trying to protect us as much as possible.”

I hope he’s right but I’m not overly encouraged by the comment by Johnny Perkins, the spokesman for the All England Lawn Tennis Club: “It is in the community, it is in the schools, it would be strange in a way if we didn’t.”  With the world monitoring the progress of swine flu, I’m surprised that they didn’t ask employees who were ill to stay away in the first place.  This should have been a precaution that was put in place before the Championships began.

image: Zuma Press

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Swine Flu Hits Wimbledon

Despite her dislike for playing on the grass, top-ranked Russian, Dinara Safina, beat Germany’s Sabine Lisicki 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-1 on Centre Court which marks the first time she has advanced to the Wimbledon semifinal.

Safina was the runner-up at the French Open and the Australian Open and she played like a true champion on the hot day in London, although she did lose her cool at one point –she slammed her racquet down after committing her seventh double-fault.  Still, she managed to compose herself, regain her focus and beat Lisicki, who had to have her trainer ice her legs as she lay down on the court during the seventh set.

The Williams sisters have both made it to the semifinals which has led me to wonder if we are going to see a repeat of last year’s results with Venus winning over Serena in the finals.

Venus Williams easily secured her spot in the semifinals by beating Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 6-2 in just 68 minutes.  It’s not surprising considering the American’s incredible record.  She has won 33 straight sets at Wimbledon since 2007.  That’s almost inhuman!  She’s now 67-9 all-time on grass

Meanwhile, Serena Williams played a clean match against Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and walked away with a 6-2, 6-3 victory on Centre Court in 1 hour, 13 minutes.  This marks the sixth time that she has made it to the Wimbledon semifinal.  Serena is a two-time champion at the All England Club.  She battled her sister for both victories in 2002 and 2003.

Russia’s Elena Dementieva routed Italy’s Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-2 on Court 1 in just 66 minutes.  It wasn’t the cleanest match for the reigning Olympic gold medalist who incurred nine double faults but she managed to finish strong with a victory.

The semifinals take place on Thursday, July 2, 2009 with the following pairings:

• Dinara Safina vs. Venus Williams (Venus is 2-1 in the three times they have met before)
• Serena Williams vs. Elena Dementieva (Elena is 3-1 in the four times they have met but Serena won their most recent battle at the Australian Open)

The women’s semifinals are definitely going to be interesting.

images: Zuma Press

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Williams Sisters, Safina Make Semis

image: TSN

Federer, who is now 69-1 in his last 70 matches on grass, defeated Soderling 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5) at the All England Club.  “Today was hard to get through a really dangerous match,” Federer said. “Not many rallies, so maybe not as much fun for the people. But I stayed calm, waited for my chance.”  Federer will face Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.  Should be an interesting match since Karlovic has a massive serve and is 6’10” – I’d be terrified!

Andy Murray and Andy Roddick also advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Stanislas Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych respectively.

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Federer Advances to Wimbledon Quarterfinals

Congratulations, Serena!  You deserve it!

image: Zuma Press

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Serena Williams Wins BET Award

image: Zuma Press

The end of the match was predictable – Melzer and Roddick have battled nine times in the past and the Austrian has lost every single time.  Since Roddick has been the runner-up to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in both 2004 and 2005, I’m sure his mind is beginning to wonder if history will repeat itself.  Roddick will play Czech Tomas Berdych in the fourth round.

Andy Murray has also advanced to the fourth round and I’m sure the British player’s hopes have been boistered by yesterday’s 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 win over Serb Viktor Troicki on the Centre Court at the All England Club.  The victory only took 1 hour, 36 minutes during which Murray served 17 aces.  He is hoping to become the first male British champion at Wimbledon since Fred Perry won in 1936.  He will face Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka in the fourth round.

Meanwhile, unseeded Lleyton Hewitt beat Germany’s Philipp Petzschner 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.   Hewitt, who won the Wimbledon title in 2002, will face Czech Radek Stepanek in the fourth round.

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Murray, Roddick and Hewitt Advance

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Venus Williams beat her opponent, Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0, 6-4.  The straight-set victory has brought her a little closer to winning her third consecutive Wimbledon title.  Williams played like she was seeking to avenge herself after losing to Suarez in the second round at this year’s Australian Open.  Williams will next battle 13th-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic in a fourth-round match.

Here’s a rundown of the other women’s results from Wimbledon:

• Fifth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova was knocked out by unseeded German Sabine Lisicki 6-2, 7-5.
• Ninth-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki reached the fourth round for the first time by beating No. 20 Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain.
• Former Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo beat 15th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta 7-5, 6-3.

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Oudin Upsets Jankovic at Wimbledon

Earlier this month, Zvonareva played in the grass-court tournament at Eastbourne and didn’t complain about the injury but I’m guessing it was either never fully healed or she reinjured it in London this week.  Either way, it’s really unfortunate.

Razzano will battle against whomever wins the match between France’s Marion Bartoli and Italy’s Francesca Schiavone.

image: TSN

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Zvonareva Pulls Out of Wimbledon