Wimbledon women’s semifinal: Dinara Safina vs. Venus Williams
We are one match from yet another all-Williams final at Wimbledon, but world No. 1 Dinara Safina -she of the zero major titles in her career – stands in the way of Venus, the five-time champ at the All England Club.
However, Venus has opened as the betting favorite on WagerWeb.com.
Safina, the French Open and Australian Open runner-up, reached the semis after a grueling 6-7, 6-1, 6-1 win over Sabine Lisicki. Venus had no trouble in her quarterfinal match, cruising to a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over 11th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska in just 68 minutes. Venus, the two-time champ here, has yet to drop a set in her five matches and has won 33 straight sets at Wimbledon, dating back to 2007. She is trying to become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1991-93 to win three consecutive Wimbledon titles.
“Do I feel invincible?” asked Venus. “I’d like to say yes, but I really do work at it.”
It’s the first semifinal at Wimbledon for Safina, who previously had said she doesn’t really care for playing on grass.
“I’m now feeling like I want to walk on grass,” says Safina. “I feel more comfortable every time.”
Safina will be at a major disadvantage on the serve against the powerful Venus. The Russian double-faulted 15 times in her quarterfinal and didn’t have a single ace; her opponent had 12.
“If I play my best and she plays the best, it’s 50-50 who’s going to win the match,” Safina said. “I don’t think if I play my best tennis and she plays the best tennis that she’s the favorite. I think I still have a chance.”
Several leading players have been critical of Safina’s ranking, including Venus and Serena, who referred to herself in May when claiming “we all know who the real No. 1 is.”
Safina and Venus have played just three times in their careers, none on grass. Venus leads 2-1 but lost the last meeting earlier this year on the clay in Rome.
If No. 3 Venus gets past Safina and No. 2 Serena eliminates No. 4 Elena Dementieva, the siblings will meet Saturday in their second consecutive final at the All England Club and fourth overall.
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