Wimbledon, England – Venus Williams giggled and hopped on her toes Wednesday, looking more like a kid who just won her first match than a veteran who just beat Maria Sharapova in a showdown of Grand Slam champions at Wimbledon’s Centre Court.
Up in the players’ guest box, Williams’ father jumped for joy, too, thrusting his arms in the air repeatedly.
Two hours later, the setting and the family were the same, yet the mood was far more subdued. Younger sister Serena shuffled off to the locker room, having lost to No. 1 Justine Henin in the quarterfinals at a second consecutive major.
What could have been another wonderful day for the Williams clan at the All England Club was only half so: After three-time Wimbledon champion Venus overwhelmed Sharapova 6-1, 6-3, two-time Wimbledon champion Serena couldn’t overcome her own poor health or a determined Henin in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 defeat.
“I wasn’t even sure if I was going to go out and play,” said Serena, who played with tape on her left calf and left thumb, both injured in her dramatic fourth-
round victory Monday. “If I’d have been healthy, I think I would have won, 100 percent.”
Managing to be slightly more gracious than after losing to Henin at the French Open – “All she had to do was show up,” was the postmatch assessment then – Serena said Wednesday: “She played a very high-quality game. I thought she played probably some of her best tennis.”
Adventurous tennis, as well, especially late. Trailing 15-30 while serving in the final game, Henin won a 10-stroke rally with a drop shot. She serve-and-volleyed on her first match point, though that didn’t work. It ended when Williams sent a backhand long.
Despite acknowledging that she battled nerves late, Henin moved two victories away from her first Wimbledon title, which would complete a career Grand Slam.
Henin next meets No. 18 Marion Bartoli, who reached her first Grand Slam semifinal by coming back to beat No. 31 Michaella Krajicek 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 after taking a nap during a rain delay.
“After that,” Bartoli said, “I was feeling much better.”
Henin acknowledged she still has “a lot of work to do,” and Williams would agree. Asked whether she thought she lost to the eventual champion, Williams said: “The eventual Wimbledon champion I saw playing in the fourth round today, definitely.”
That, of course, would be Venus, who was pretty close to flawless against 2004 champion Sharapova. She averaged 115 mph on first serves and reached 126 mph. She won 33-of-42 points on her serve and only once was taken to deuce.
“You’ve got to give her credit,” the second-seeded Sharapova said. “Her average first serve was 115, and some men don’t do that.”
Second-seeded Rafael Nadal finally wrapped up a victory over No. 28 Robin Soderling in a third-round match that was supposed to start Saturday. No. 4 Novak Djokovic also reached the fourth round, while No. 3 Andy Roddick and No. 12 Richard Gasquet set up a quarterfinal meeting.
The Williams’ father, Richard, is rarely shy about expressing an opinion and had plenty to offer after watching Venus win.
“I think she can be a champion until she’s 34, I really do,” he said. “I’ll tell you something else I believe: I don’t think you’ve seen the best of Venus.”
