Serena exacts revenge

Venus rallies past Clijsters to set up all-Williams final

Serena needed just 70 minutes Thursday to reach her second Wimbledon final. AP

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Swinging so hard she lost an earring, Serena Williams won her rematch against Justine Henin-Hardenne and advanced Thursday to the Wimbledon final.

Her opponent will again be older sister Venus, who aggravated an abdominal strain in the third game but still rallied beat Kim Clijsters 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Serena Williams won 6-3, 6-2 to avenge her traumatic loss against Henin-Hardenne in the French Open semifinals four weeks ago. Fans at Roland Garros jeered Williams and cheered her mistakes, but the Centre Court crowd at Wimbledon had only applause for the defending champion.

"I'm just happy to be in the final of Wimbledon again," Williams said. "I've been able to realize at the French that you can't always make it to the finals. Now that I'm back, it's definitely exciting."

The Williams sisters have met in four of the past five Grand Slam finals, including Wimbledon last year, with Serena winning them all. They've won the past three Wimbledon titles.

With Serena watching the second semifinal from a Centre Court seat, her sister won despite a stomach injury that first bothered her two months ago. Two-time champion Venus grimaced and hunched over after hitting a serve in the third game, and during the ensuing changeover she took a medical timeout and left the court for treatment.

Then came a rain delay after the first set.

Advantage: Serena Career head-to-head meetings Year  Tourney  Round  Winner  Score  1998  Aus. Open  2nd  Venus  7-6, 6-1  1998  Rome  qtrs  Venus  6-4, 6-2  1999  K. Biscayne  final  Venus  6-1, 4-6, 6-4  1999  G.S. Cup  final  Serena  6-1, 3-6, 6-3  2000  Wimbledon  semis  Venus  6-2, 7-6  2001  Indian Wells  semis  *Serena  walkover  2001  U.S. Open  final  Venus  6-2, 6-4  2002  Miami  semis  Serena  6-2, 6-2  2002  Fr. Open  final  Serena  6-3, 7-5  2002  Wimbledon  final  Serena  7-6, 6-3  2002  U.S. Open  final  Serena  6-4, 6-3  2003  Aus. Open  final  Serena  7-6, 3-6, 6-4  * Does not officially count as a win or a loss

"The rain saved me," Williams said. "I couldn't calm myself down, I was just so worried about the injury. Serena came in and talked to me. I went out and talked to my mom and my other sisters.

"My mom said, 'Just pray and calm yourself down. If you're going to play, play. If not, don't do it.' Finally after about half an hour, I was able to come to terms with it."

When play resumed, Williams began hitting with her characteristic flair, and she won 10 of the final 11 games. The victory ensures that her sister will remain No. 1 ahead of Clijsters in next week's rankings.

In men's play, No. 5-seeded Andy Roddick advanced to his second Grand Slam semifinal this year by beating unseeded Jonas Bjorkman 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. Roddick's opponent Friday will be No. 4 Roger Federer, who defeated No. 8 Sjeng Schalken 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

No. 10 Tim Henman again fell short in his bid to become the first Englishman to win Wimbledon since 1936. In the completion of a match suspended Wednesday because of rain, Henman lost to No. 13 Sebastien Grosjean 7-6 (8), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

"Perhaps my chances are getting less," said Henman, 28. "It won't stop me from coming back and trying."

Grosjean will play unseeded Mark Philippoussis, who hit 34 aces to rally past Alexander Popp 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 8-6. Their match also took two days.

Henman vows to return LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) -- A dejected Tim Henman admitted time was running out for him to win Wimbledon after his latest failure on Thursday. The 28-year-old Briton's four-set quarterfinal defeat by Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean was the seventh time in eight years he has lost in either quarter or semifinals at the All England Club. "Maybe, I think perhaps my chances are getting less. But that won't stop me coming back and trying," said Henman, whose annual bid to end his country's 67-year wait for a Wimbledon men's champion has become a national obsession. "I wouldn't say they [my chances] are diminishing greatly. It's inevitable as the standards are getting better, I have to find ways to keep improving. "That's not going to stop me coming back. This is the one tournament I desperately want to win. In the bigger picture, in my career, I've still got another four or five years. "You've got to have belief. If you don't believe in yourself, you've got no shot. At moments like this, it's difficult to accept but it doesn't detract from my belief that I can go away and improve." FULL STORY

More showers Thursday delayed the start of play for 2 1/2 hours, but when it finally began, Serena Williams was ready. She came out hitting so ferociously that by the second game the huge hoop earring on her left ear was gone -- albeit only temporarily.

The force of her strokes sometimes sent her airborne, and several times she let out a jubilant shriek after winning a point.

"I played really well today," Williams said. "I was really focused. I had to be."

Williams accused Henin-Hardenne of cheating in their Paris match by requesting a timeout and then failing to acknowledge it. Following the upset, Williams drew boos when she brusquely shook hands with the Belgian.

This time a victorious Williams greeted Henin-Hardenne at the net with a grin, a firm handshake and a conciliatory pat on the shoulder.

"I think she's a good player, I think she's a nice girl and I have no hard feelings," Williams said.

Said Henin-Hardenne: "We're just two players, and we all want the same thing -- winning a lot of matches. We don't have a problem between each other."

The pace of Venus Williams' serves dropped for a time after she aggravated her injury, and she stiffened in pain after hitting an overhead. Clijsters repeatedly controlled rallies in the first set, keeping Williams on the move.

But the rain delay revived Williams, while Clijsters' strokes became more erratic. The Belgian committed seven unforced errors in a single game, losing serve to fall behind 5-3 in the second set, and Williams served it out.

Williams won the final six games. She bent over in pain once more after the next-to-last point, but Clijsters hit a forehand wide on match point. Williams' shoulders sagged with relief as she gave the crowd a wave and weary smile.

"I just gritted my teeth and started fighting," Williams said. "And through it all, here I am."

Williams said she hopes to be able to play in the final.

"I'm praying, and I'm going to do what I can," she said. "I have to at least show up."

Roddick improved to 10-0 this year on grass, where his 125-mph (201-kph) serve has become a feared weapon. He hit 13 aces against Bjorkman, lost his serve just once and has won 76 of 79 service games in the tournament.

"I'm serving well right now, that's for sure," Roddick said. "But there are a lot of big servers here, and it's the other things that I've been doing that have put me in this position."

Roddick's only previous Grand Slam semifinal berth came at the Australian Open in January. The 20-year-old Floridian is now playing in the sort of Wimbledon matches that he can remember watching on TV when in grade school.

"It's weird to think that there's some 9-year-old kid out there getting excited to wake up early and eat bacon and eggs and watch the matches," Roddick said. "It's pretty cool."

 

Related information

Stories

Frustrating day for Henman, fans at rainy Wimbledon

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video