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Day 10 Preview Wednesday, 29 June, 2005 Losing in the semi-finals of any contest has to be the one of the biggest sporting disappointments. So near and yet so far, that sort of thing. If you lose in the final at least you have been part of the grand occasion, but all a defeated semi-finalist has is the prize money. The consolation is that there is never long to wait before the next tournament comes along. So who will go marching on to Saturday's climax of the women's singles event, and who will be laundering the grass stains off clothing and shoes until this time next year? The seedings have stood up remarkably well, with the top three, Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova and Amelie Mauresmo, filling their allotted places. They are joined by arguably the most distinguished 14th seed ever to get to Wimbledon's last four, Venus Williams. Here is a two-time Wimbledon winner and two-time runner-up (all achieved in four consecutive years) fallen, however temporarily, on the sort of hard times that have driven her down the rankings. It would not be unfair to say that the 29-year-old Davenport has surprised herself by the all-conquering manner in which she has sailed through a tournament she did not plan to take part in again after last year. Not having won a Grand Slam since the Australian Open of 2000, Lindsay's thoughts were turning to the other things in life besides tennis, such as starting a family. Such thoughts were put on hold as she began to play like the Davenport of old and reclaimed the world No.1 spot. She is in her 75th non-consecutive week as top lady, a position she has held on six different occasions since 1998. So Davenport is giving it the old gung-ho charge in pursuit of one, and maybe two or three, more Grand Slams to sit on the trophy shelf with the three she has already won, including Wimbledon in 1999. She came close in Australia six months ago, losing in the final to Serena Williams. Now the route to Saturday's final is blocked by one hurdle, a barricade built by the No. 3 seed, Amelie Mauresmo. Lindsay would be entitled to regard the barrier as more of a traffic hump, since she has won their last seven meetings without having conceded a set to the Frenchwoman. But this will be their first clash on grass and only their second in a Grand Slam, with Mauresmo having won at the Australian Open six years ago. That event in Melbourne was the closest Amelie has come to one of the major titles. She finished runner-up to Martina Hingis. Even tennis fans who do not live in France consider it is about time Mauresmo claimed a Grand Slam. This is the third consecutive time she has marched into Wimbledon's semi-finals. In this year's tournament she has not yet dropped a set, conceding only 22 games. Davenport yielded a set to Kim Clijsters in the fourth round, otherwise her sets-against sheet is clean too. Davenport and Mauresmo were the losing semi-finalists at The Championships a year ago. This time one of them will take the step that matters into Saturday's final. If it is Davenport who comes through, the final could become what it so often has been in the past, an all-American beanfeast. For that to happen, Venus Williams must do what she has not yet managed in two attempts, beat Maria Sharapova. The defending champion will not be awed by the prospect of tackling the older Williams, having swatted youngster sister Serena so brilliantly in last year's final. When that happened, the Girl with the Golden Shoes was only 17. Now she has matured by one year and many ranking positions, while Venus, beset by injury and loss of form, has slipped out of the top five where she dwelled for so long. Sharapova conceded just seven games in each of her victories over Venus, gained indoors at Zurich last year and on the hard outdoor courts of Miami this spring. Neither has dropped a set in winning five rounds here, though neither would deny that at times their game has looked a mite rusty. But both possess that ability of a true champion, to lift themselves and their level of tennis when it matters. This ability is what has pushed the Florida-based Russian teenager up the rankings ladder, where she is poised to take over from Davenport as No. 1. It will not happen this weekend, though, even if Sharapova retains her title and Lindsay goes out in the semi-finals. Sharapova's inevitable, eventual ascent would make her the first Russian to top the women's tennis world, but she would not be the youngest player to do so. Martina Hingis was 16, Monica Seles and Tracy Austin 17 and Steffi Graf a slightly younger 18-year-old. But none of them played in golden shoes. Written by Ronald Atkin

Roddick Takes the Long Road Wednesday, 29 June, 2005 If this is to be Andy Roddick's year at Wimbledon, the triumph will have been hard earned. Today's five-set success over Sebastien Grosjean which takes him into the semi-finals for the third straight year at The Championships comes hard on the heels of the win over Daniele Bracciali, the Italian who got into the tournament under the "lucky loser" regulation, which also went the full distance. That was the first five-set match the man from Omaha, Nebraska, had ever played here. Prior to that he had last played a five-set match in the semi-finals at the 2003 US Open, defeating David Nalbandian on his way to the title. Grosjean's fighting qualities came as a surprise to Roddick, who had beaten him five times in a row without dropping a set, including twice this year. In a bid to keep that sequence rolling along, Roddick went flat out in the first set, standing in on the Grosjean serve and hitting everything as hard as he could. In fact, he overdid it and paid the penalty by conceding the opening set. Once Roddick let his huge serve and howitzer forehand do the talking, as he normally does, Roddick saw the match swing his way. In this match between two men who wear the Lacoste badge, it was Roddick who eventually had the more impressive crocodile snap. After Grosjean had bounced back to capture the fourth set, Roddick needed to call on his impressive powers of concentration and stamina to pull the match out. He did so in familiar fashion, with the frequent trademark tug of the peak of his white cap and plucking at the shoulders of his shirt as he steadily pulled clear of the Florida-based Frenchman. The victory was called "a masterpiece of willpower and concentration" by BBC TV commentator Andrew Castle. This is Roddick's fifth year at Wimbledon. In the first two he got no further than the third round, but his challenge for the title in the subsequent three years has been foiled by the spectacular rise of Roger Federer, who beat him in the 2003 semi-finals and last year's four-set final. Since 2001, his first full year on the professional tour, Roddick has won at least two titles every season. In 2005 he has so far collected three more, taking his total to 18 by winning San Jose, Houston for the third time and the Stella Artois grass court tournament at Queen's Club, also for the third time. Since winning the 2003 US Open, Roddick's nearest challenge for a second Grand Slam title came at the Wimbledon final a year ago, where he finished runner-up. This year, having been elevated to second seed by the All England Club seeding committee from his fourth-ranked place in the world rankings, Roddick is determined to justify that confidence in his ability by halting Federer. Written by Ronald Atkin

Roddick Rides into the Semis Wednesday, June 29, 2005 Andy Roddick emerged triumphant from a seesaw battle with Sebastien Grosjean to win through to the Wimbledon semi-finals on Wednesday evening. Before an enthralled Centre Court crowd, the two friends too turns to out-think and outplay one another before Roddick edged it 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Roddick will play the 2002 Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson for a place in the final. Simply by winning the first set, Grosjean achieved something which had eluded him against Roddick since early 2003. In their last 11 competitive sets - all played in best-of-three matches - Grosjean had not managed to put a single one against his own name. Even disregarding that statistic, it was obviously important to do it today at the first opportunity, although that said the opening set was a curious affair. Perhaps Roddick was unnerved by the court covers coming on and off for a light rain shower not once but twice while the players were warming up before the match had even started. Whatever the reason, he made 10 unforced errors during the set, over-hitting the lines. Grosjean was attacking his second serve, and the 2003 US Open champion was unable to convert a single one of the five break points he held throughout the set. Grosjean himself required three opportunities to convert set point, but eventually he managed it, taking his first set from Roddick after five blank encounters. It was game on. If anyone was surprised, presumably 22-year-old Roddick was not among them. The two are longtime friends and practice partners, and before today's match began he described Grosjean as "one of the top five grasscourt players in the world, which makes him tough to deal with". Yet only a week before this Wimbledon began, Grosjean was deposed as French No.1 after Richard Gasquet won the first tournament of his career, at Nottingham. Grosjean had held the top spot for 212 weeks, since May 2001. Suddenly the youngster was 14th in the Champion's Race to Grosjean's 28th, and 20th in the entry rankings to Grosjean's 27th. Perhaps Grosjean was spurred on by that, but then again Wimbledon is not exactly fallow territory for him. In playing Roddick the 27-year-old Frenchman was bidding to make his third successive semi-final in SW19, although in 2005 his previous best showing was runner-up at Houston - to Roddick. Houston is one of three titles collected by the American to date this year, and he was also a semi-finalist at the Australian Open. Before this tournament began Roddick was everyone's anointed nomination to play Roger Federer in the final, and when the second set got underway Roddick appeared to remember that. At 3-2 he grabbed two break points, and on the second an overlong Grosjean forehand made it 2-4. Would this be a turning point in the match? It seemed so. Minutes later Grosjean dumped a forehand into the net to give Roddick two set points on the Frenchman's serve, and a great return set up the winner. Roddick was turning the match around. Grosjean, in his first Centre Court match of the 2005 fortnight, had to prevent the momentum moving against him. But Roddick was a new man, dramatically cutting back on the errors, reducing the serves out wide mystifyingly deployed in the first set, and finding a new confidence which enabled him to hit the lines. Immediately the third set was underway he forced the break. He could even afford to showboat with an attempted "hotdog" shot - between his legs - a gesturing in mock disgust when he failed to make it. He broke again for 5-1, and took the set with some room to spare. Yet Grosjean would not obligingly fold. At 2-3 a loose game from Roddick meant he had to save two break points. Then a stunning crosscourt backhand from the Frenchman yielded a third opportunity. An overlong Roddick forehand converted it. The crowd was delighted, hungry for a fifth set. Roddick wasn't so keen, testing Grosjean with break points of his own, but without success. No sooner was the match into the decider than Grosjean's first serve deserted him. Roddick broke him instantly and was all over the Frenchman, as if angry with himself for allowing the fourth set to get away. Hard as Grosjean tried, Roddick would not let him back in. The American was into his third successive semi-final. Incidentally, for the benefit of the curious, the blue wristband on Roddick's left forearm is worn in support of various children's charities, known by the umbrella label 'No Compromise'. Now that's the kind of name a player of Roddick's style would appreciate. Written by Kate Battersby

Акоп!!! Это же не Слово За Слово!!!

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И так 2 вопроса - Из Древней Мифологии, Кому удалось свершить то, чего не удавалось никому? Кто и Что Такого Сделал (ла) Этот Человек???

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А с Карякиным им надо будет играть?

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