Chinese history-maker Zheng Jie and brittle blonde Elena Dementieva will attempt to derail the Williams sisters’ Wimbledon express in the semifinals on Thursday.
The American siblings have become the dominant forces at the All England Club with Venus winning the title in 2000, 2001, 2005 and 2007 and Serena taking the trophy in 2002 and 2003.
They are again the overwhelming favourites to meet in what would be a third all-Williams final.
But Zheng, who celebrates her 25th birthday on Saturday, the day of the final, and Dementieva, twice a Grand Slam runner-up, have other ideas leaving the Americans to insist that they are not even thinking
about the title match even if all the top four seeds failed to make it through.
”It doesn’t matter who’s in the tournament or not. It doesn’t play a factor in how we feel about ourselves,” said Venus who tackles Dementieva in her semifinal.
”It’s nice to be favourite, that’s for sure. But I’m going to go out there and work just as hard as if I was or if I wasn’t the favourite.”
Venus has beaten Dementieva in five of the pair’s seven meetings although they have never played on grass.
Serena boasts a winning record against Zheng, the first Chinese player to get this far in a Grand Slam, having won their only previous meeting here in 2006.
Serena says she’s been impressed by what she has seen of her Chinese opponent who has enjoyed a fairytale run at the All England Club where she defeated world number one Ana Ivanovic in the third round.
It’s a remarkable acheivement for a player whose ranking was so low at the start of the tournament that she needed a wildcard to get into the main draw.
”I’ve been watching her play. I think she’s doing a fabulous job, and I don’t think it’s luck,” said Serena. ”I’m definitely not going to underestimate her.”
Zheng is no stranger to Wimbledon success having won the doubles with Yan Zi in 2006 but the acheivement passed under the radar with most people in China distracted by the football World Cup instead.
”It was very exciting to win in 2006, but also it was at the same time as the World Cup, so it was not received as sensationally as the football,” Zheng said.
”But Wimbledon is a very historic tournament and there is a lot of affection for it in China.”
Fifth seed Dementieva is the highest-ranked player left in the draw and is hoping to improve on her previous best Grand Slam performances when she was runner-up at the 2004 French and US Opens.
But her frail temperament has constantly been a concern.
At the French Open this year, she let slip a set and 5-2 lead, as well as a match point, to lose to Dinara Safina and she almost suffered a carbon copy collapse against compatriot Nadia Petrova in Tuesday’s quarterfinals.
She was a set and 5-1 ahead and wasted two match points before she composed herself in the final set.
”Venus is the defending champion. She likes to play on grass. She really knows how to play here, so I think she’s a favourite,” said Dementieva, playing in her first Wimbledon semifinal.
”All the pressure’s on her. I really have nothing to lose.” – AFP
