Taiwan’s Latisha Chan on Thursday advanced to the semi-finals of the mixed doubles at Wimbledon, while Serena Williams overwhelmed Barbora Strycova in the semi-finals of the women’s singles.
French Open champions and eighth seeds Chan and Ivan Dodig ousted the last remaining British players at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, edging Eden Silva and Evan Hoyt 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) in 1 hour, 33 minutes on Court 2.
The Taiwanese-Croatian duo saved one of four break points and converted four of 13, winning 43 percent of the receiving points and hitting 13 winners.
Photo: AFP
The victory set up a semi-final late yesterday against fifth seeds Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic and Wesley Kolhoof of the Netherlands.
Earlier, hours before her semi-final, Williams spent some time deep in thought and arrived at a couple of conclusions.
For one thing, she should not focus too much on trying to raise her Grand Slam title total to 24, a number achieved by just one other player in tennis history, and for another, she needs to stay calm on the court.
With that in mind, Williams went out and made it all look so easy, overwhelming Czech Strycova 6-1, 6-2 in 59 minutes to once again put herself on the verge of an eighth championship at Wimbledon and major No. 24 overall.
“It’s really not about 24 or 23 or 25. It’s really just about going out there and giving my best effort, no matter what. No matter what I do, I will always have a great career,” said Williams, who at 37 is the oldest woman to reach a Grand Slam final in the professional era. “Like, I just kind of let it go this morning.”
Today she is due to take on seventh seed Simona Halep of Romania, a 6-1, 6-3 winner over eighth seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine under a cloudy sky on Centre Court.
It is the 11th final at Wimbledon for Williams and the first for Halep, whose only major trophy came at the French Open last year.
They have played each other 10 previous times, with Williams winning nine.
“I respect a lot what she has done and what she’s doing, but now I feel stronger, mentally, facing her,” Halep said. “We will see what is going to happen. It’s just a big challenge for me.”
For anyone, really, when Williams is at her best.
After an up-and-down first half of the year, due in part to injury and illness, she does appear to have lifted her level considerably.
Williams was limited to 12 matches this year until last week. After a third-round loss at Roland Garros on June 1, she stayed in France for medical treatment and finally felt pain-free while preparing for Wimbledon.
“Well, if she will play like this in the final, it’s going to be very hard for Simona,” said Strycova, 33, the oldest first-time Grand Slam semi-finalist in the modern era.
Halep seemed headed for a long day when her semi-final against Svitolina began with a pair of games encompassing 32 points across 20 minutes. Five of the first 11 points lasted at least 10 strokes; two went 23.
Soon enough, though, Halep was in control. Now comes a tougher task: beating Williams.
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