WIMBLEDON, England — It was raining break points for Tamarine Tanasugarn, six of them with Venus Williams leading 3-2 in the opening set.
And six times Williams leaned into one of her rally-busting serves, each one sending a message that she’s loaded with the weapon that could sweep her to a fifth Wimbledon crown.
On the warmest day of the year in London, a wilting 82 degrees, the sisters served their way into the semifinals — Venus with a 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Tanasugarn and Serena with a 6-4, 6-0 conquest of Agnieszka Radwanska.
For the first time in five years, the sisters have a reached a Grand Slam semifinal together and, because they’re in opposite ends of the draw, could play each other in Saturday’s final in a reprise of the 2003 Wimbledon championship won by Serena.
As fine as Venus is playing, having been broken just once in each of her five matches, do not suggest to her younger sister, as one reporter did, that she should be favored to win a second consecutive Wimbledon.
“What are you on?” Serena snapped, half-joking. “I always believe I’m the favorite, even if I’m not. I’m always going to believe I am.”
For Venus, seeded seventh, the final barrier to vault on the road to the final is No. 5 Elena Dementieva, who reached the semifinals with a 6-1, 6-7 (6), 6-3 win over Russian Nadia Petrova.
Serena, the No. 6 seed, next draws the surprise of the tournament — Zheng Jie, the first Chinese and the first female wild card to reach the Wimbledon semis.
She came to London ranked No. 133 and with only an 8-6 record, but she’s no unknown quantity to the WTA’s elite. Two years ago, she was 27th in the world but had faltered because of injury. She’s into the semis with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 win over Nicole Vaidisova.
The super-aggressive Williams, however, should have a fine afternoon devouring Jie’s popgun second serves.
“I’m definitely not underestimating her,” Serena said.
At a glance
A look at Tuesday’s play:
Women’s quarterfinals: No. 5 Elena Dementieva def. No. 21 Nadia Petrova, No. 6 Serena Williams def. No. 14 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 7 Venus Williams def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, Zheng Jie def. No. 18 Nicole Vaidisova.
Today’s men’s quarterfinals: No. 1 Roger Federer vs. Mario Ancic, No. 12 Andy Murray vs. No. 2 Rafael Nadal, Marat Safin vs. No. 31 Feliciano Lopez, Rainer Schuettler vs. Arnaud Clement.
Stat of the day: 9-of-10 — Break points saved by Venus Williams in her 6-4, 6-3 victory over Tanasugarn
Quote of the day: “Oops, I did it again.” — Dementieva, on what was going through her head when she was letting a 5-1 lead in the second set slip away against Petrova before recovering to win. Dementieva lost at the French Open after being ahead by a set and 5-2 in the second.
On TV today: 10 a.m., KUSA-9; 7 p.m. (taped) ESPN2
The Associated Press
