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Serena into semis Younger Williams beats Raymond in 41 minutes
Posted: Tuesday July 04, 2000 10:35 AM
LONDON (Reuters) -- Eighth seed Serena Williams rampaged into her first Wimbledon semifinal on Tuesday with a 6-2, 6-0 demolition of fellow American Lisa Raymond. The 18-year-old U.S. Open champion faces either her elder sister Venus or top seed Martina Hingis in the last four. Williams' win in 41 minutes means she has lost only 13 games in five matches so far at Wimbledon. The writing was on the wall for the 26-year-old Raymond when she lost the first six points, including her first service game to love, as Williams thrashed backhand service return winners past her. The muscular teenager mixed in a few aces and even a deft lob as she broke again to love for 4-1 and duly wrapped up the set with a vicious forehand winner when serving at 5-2. Raymond's only glimmer of hope stemmed from her volleying ability but more often than not when she ventured to the net, she found herself passed by a blistering Williams groundstroke. Three successive breaks of serve meant Raymond won only eight points as she found herself whitewashed in the second set. Williams finished with two aces in her final service game, taking her tally to 44 -- the most of any player in the women's singles -- in what proved to be little more than a 41-minute training work-out on Court One. Unseeded Raymond was left to concentrate on defending the mixed doubles title she won last year. She is also the top seed in the women's doubles.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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