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Mauresmo Ends Myskina's Run Tuesday, June 28, 2005 Amelie Mauresmo, the No.3 seed, reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon for the third time today when she defeated Anastasia Myskina, 6-3, 6-4. Myskina had reached the last eight the hard way. She was 4-1 down in the second set and 4-2 in the third against Czech qualifier Katerina Bohmova in the opening round; threw away three match points and the second set before trailing 5-1 in the third versus Serbian Jelena Jankovic in the third round; and saved two match points against compatriot Elena Dementieva in the round of 16. This was in stark contrast to Mauresmo, who had only dropped 15 games in her four matches. A series of comfortable wins conserves energy and lifts confidence, but it is questionable whether it makes you battle-heartened. There was no doubt Myskina has toughened herself up but whether she had taken too much out of herself physically and emotionally remained to be seen as the Russian faced the French No.1. Myskina went into the Centre Court match having surprised many at this tournament with her resilience. This year her form has been erratic, with injury concerns and personal worries about the health of her mother. Her tennis reached its nadir in 2005 at the French Open where, as defending champion, she lost in the opening round. But she reported at Eastbourne two weeks ago that mum Galina was feeling better and that seems to have coincided with improved performances. World No.3 Mauresmo has had a decent year - winning in Antwerp and Rome and making the quarter-finals of the Australian Open - although she was brought down to earth by Russian qualifier Vera Douchevina at the Hastings Direct International Championships on England's south coast a fortnight ago. She could only hope that the grass at SW19 was greener. Mauresmo broke Myskina early in the first set to stamping her authority on the match. Mauresmo has an ability to mix her game; she is equally comfortable at the net and on the baseline. But on occasion her versatility can work against her as she becomes indecisive about whether to chip and charge or stay put. Certainly, her volleying was crisp but she started to lose out in the baseline rallies as Myskina broke back. With the wind blustering around court, Myskina struggled on her serve and was broken once more before Mauresmo secured the opening set. It was a similar pattern in the second but with Mauresmo's dominance more pronounced as she broke brittle Myskina for a second time. Her game was starting to flow as she found the rhythm that has remained with her through most of her campaign at Wimbledon this year. Mauresmo's movement around the court reflected a player comfortable in her own performance and she showed her athleticism to spring and set up three match points with an overhead smash. She only needed one of them. Written by Mike Donovan

Davenport Does it With Style Tuesday, June 28, 2005 Lindsay Davenport today won through to the fifth Wimbledon semi-final of her career. After a tough first set battle against Svetlana Kuznetsova, she overwhelmed the reigning US Open champion to win 7-6 (7-1), 6-3, and will now play Amelie Mauresmo in Thursday's semi-final. Davenport, 29, was already guaranteed that she would hold on to her world No.1 spot no matter who wins the title here, thanks to her tough fourth round win on Monday over Kim Clijsters. But the 1999 Wimbledon champion was naturally thrilled to beat Kuznetsova, who beat her on the way to the US Open title last autumn. "I played a good tiebreak and good second set," she smiled afterwards. "It seemed like every time I had break point, she aced me. Yesterday was a tough match against Kim. I was glad to come back from that. I have a good record against Amelie but I haven't played her on grass. She's playing really well. She's a great athlete and I admire her a lot. I'm really looking forward to it." The first set developed into an intriguing battle after Kuznetsova got off to a wobbly start. She served two aces in the first game, yet was still broken courtesy of unforced errors. But by deploying her big shot - the forehand - she began to open up the court, and as Jimmy Connors observed, "her first serve right up the tee is her bread and butter". A double fault by Davenport handed the Russian an opportunity and a deep return of serve forced the error for the break back. The set went with serve until at 5-4 Kuznetsova hit a backhand passing shot down the line for set point. Davenport - using all the experience of an eight-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist - stayed in control to exorcise the risk. It was to prove a pivotal moment in the set. A crosscourt forehand pass from the American gave her break point for 6-5, which Kuznetsova could not save. But then it was Davenport's turn suddenly to lose her touch, giving Kuznetsova two chances to break back. Another unforced error from Davenport, and the set arrived at the tiebreak. The frustrated American was so cross that she bounced her racket on the turf and cracked it, although she escaped a warning from the umpire. Yet after all that nip-and-tuck Davenport dominated the tiebreak. Watching the match for the BBC, Tracy Austin put the set into context. "Last month at the French, Svetlana held match point over Justine Henin-Hardenne, couldn't take it and Justine went on to win the title," said the 1979 US Open champion. "Last year at the French she held match point over Anastasia Myskina, couldn't take it and Anastasia went on to win the title. That's on her mind big time. I was talking to her at Eastbourne and she was asking me if I thought it would stay with her for a long time - how long she would be thinking about the loss of those matches where she had match point. She does think about those two matches still. "Last year not many picked Svetlana to win the US Open - I can't think of anyone who did. She's really struggled with the expectation since then, and has had off-and-on results. But her powerful forehand and strong legs mean she can be extremely dangerous. She certainly trains extremely hard and is very focused." Davenport began the second set as she had the first, holding her own serve and breaking her opponent. Kuznetsova conceded the latter game with her sixth double fault, at which point the respective confidence of the two opponents was poles apart. When Davenport held again there was clear blue water between them for the first time. Once again, when tested she was quietly getting into her game and stretching away from her challenger. "Lindsay is completely about tennis and family," said Austin. "She's happily married, close to her sisters and nieces. She doesn't enjoy all that extra off-court stuff that some players do. I was with her in a grocery store in Wimbledon village the other day and not many people recognised her which is exactly the way she likes it. "I grew up in the same area as her in southern California and I would never even have bet one dollar that she could get to be world No.1. She always had great hands, but never the shape. So she has worked tremendously hard and done so well to reach that high. She has worked on her fitness, getting slimmer and moving better as a result. It makes her a smarter player because she stays in the points longer. In the past some of the taller women were not good athletes. Now they move as well as the other players. "After last year's semi-final defeat to Maria Sharapova, Lindsay said she might not be back. Thank goodness she is." Meanwhile back on Court One, it suddenly seemed Kuznetsova was simply going through the motions, and a fabulous crosscourt forehand gave Davenport three break points for 4-0. Yet the Russian turned it around to get her name on the second set scoreboard, and keep herself in the contest. But it was too late. She saved a match point on her own serve at 2-5, but when it came to Davenport's turn she closed it out with an ace. So Davenport, the low-key top seed, is still on course to collect her first Slam title in five-and-a-half years. Jimmy Connors for one believes it is a far better prize than to be world No.1. "I like that she is so comfortable in her own skin," the two-time Wimbledon champion said. "That's important, to keep your head when all about you are losing theirs. Now's the time when it all gets a little crazy, when people begin to talk about you winning Wimbledon - yet Lindsay stays calm. That's good. But winning the Slams is much more important than being No.1. That feeling just can't be matched. Don't get me wrong - being No. 1 is great, but coming through in the majors is the best feeling." The way Davenport is playing, she may yet get her fourth experience of a Slam title win come Saturday.

Sharapova In Commanding Form Tuesday, June 28, 2005 Defending champion Maria Sharapova beat fellow Russian Nadia Petrova 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 in one hour and 26 minutes to gain a semi-final place at Wimbledon today. Sharapova was given a demanding first set but then the resistance from the 23-year-old Petrova faded. Sharapova was never in serious danger of losing command. The only time she was breakpoint down was in the final game as she moved to the semi-finals for a second time in three appearances in The Championships. Second-seeded Sharapova has not dropped a set in five matches and was in little danger of doing so against Petrova in the blustery conditions on No.1 Court. Petrova has had her best Wimbledon in six attempts, moving one round further than ever before. The first set was a perfect stage for her to try to unseat the champion as she served four aces as part of her attack. Serving first, she was always in a position to put pressure on Sharapova's serve. Petrova was only break point down once, in the ninth game, when she double faulted after Sharapova had reached deuce with a service return that hit the net cord and trickled over. But a service winner saved that situation. In the tie-break, Petrova was unable to force the pace, with Sharapova hitting to a good length and jumping into a 6-4 lead with two set points. Petrova saved both of those, only for Sharapova to produce two forehand winners for a one-set lead after 55 minutes. A confident Sharapova broke Petrova's serve in the second game of the second set and had lost just three points by the time she had extended her lead to 3-0. Petrova then held three service games running to stay loosely in contention but was given the chance of breaking back when Sharapova served for the match. A double fault, the only one in the second set, put Sharapova break point down. She saved that somewhat fortuitously with a backhand that hit the net cord and fell into Petrova's court. Then Sharapova moved to match point with a forehand error from her opponent off another net cord shot and Petrova made an error in the next rally.

Venus Weathers Pierce Fightback Tuesday, June 28, 2005 Venus Williams clung on in a breathtaking tie-break that went to 22 points to reach the women's semi-finals with a 6-0, 7-6 (12-10) victory over Mary Pierce on Centre Court. The win guarantees her best performance in a Grand Slam since she reached the Wimbledon final two years ago. Fears of a one-sided, disappointing contest in difficult, breezy conditions disappeared after the opening set, which the older Williams sister galloped through in just 21 minutes at a cost of 11 points. The 12th-seeded Pierce, who had reached the French Open final earlier this month, only to be swept aside by Justine Henin-Hardenne,simply could not cope with the heavier ground strokes of Williams. The crowd, openly siding with the 30-year-old Frenchwoman, loudly cheered her rare winners, especially one delicate drop shot, but Williams was in total control and when she also won the opening game of the second set an early finish looked on the cards. Suddenly Pierce's thunderous forehands began to find the range and the Williams superiority was under assault. The turning point for Pierce came in the set's second game, a marathon of six deuces in which Pierce managed to hold serve for the first time on her seventh game point after the match had been in progress for 37 minutes. If that belated success received a huge roar of acclaim, Pierce aroused hope among her many well-wishers in the crowd by going on to the attack, now holding her serve confidently and shrugging off the occasional double-fault as she strained for the big delivery. Serving from the end opposite the Royal Box was particularly tricky in the face of the wind but Pierce held confidently to take the set to a tie-break in what had become an absorbing contest. Pierce gained the first mini-break when Williams netted a forehand, but Venus immediately annulled that advantage with a backhand drive volley on the Pierce serve. More cheers greeted Pierce's next break of serve, as the two went on to swap set points (four for Pierce) and match points (two for Williams). Eventually, with Williams leading 11-10, having reached match point for the second time with a backhand volley, Pierce drove a backhand long. After one hour and 29 minutes, the 14th-seeded Williams, the champion here in 2000 and 2001, was through to the last four. Written by Ronald Atkin

Безрыбье и выпью не рифмуются!!!

Этот конкурс странный, мы сколько человек выбираем???

Тогда каждый кому не лень голосовать сможет и сколько хочет!!!

А он в Июне не появлялся!!!

Успокойся...

:lol:

Да мы уже читали 20 постов назад

Изза, а теперь как?

Так а теперь как мы играть будем

dprotsakan, надо одним словом найти рифму... Как Море - Горе

Ричард

:lol:

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