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Clijsters advances to semifinals
http://www.sina.com.cn 2003/07/02 11:03  Shanghai Daily

  Venus Williams won the final five games and the last 11 points yesterday to beat her American compatriot Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1.

  Two-time champion Williams dropped a set for the first time in the tournament but still improved to 25-1 at Wimbledon since 2000.

  Her opponent in the semifinals tomorrow will be No 2-seeded Kim Clijsters, who rallied past No 27 Silvia Farina Elia 5-7, 6-0, 6-1.

  "If you get this far, you have to be doing something right," the No 4-seeded Williams said. "I'll just have to keep on with the same things."

  Davenport's serving kept her in the match, but she lost for the sixth time in a row to Williams, who summoned her best tennis down the stretch. Williams' grunts became louder and her groundstrokes more accurate, and she clenched her teeth after hitting one winner.

  Williams displayed her remarkable range of shots throughout - nine aces, lunging volleys, groundstrokes into the corners and even a return winner off a 100-mph serve.

  Davenport, hampered in recent weeks by a left toe injury that may eventually require surgery, struggled to chase down shots in her forehand corner.

  With Williams leading 2-0 in the first set, play was suspended for 1 hour, 22 minutes because of rain. The No 5-seeded Davenport won the first two games when the match resumed, before Williams regained control and won four games in a row to take the set.

  Williams was broken in the opening game of the second set, and Davenport rallied thanks to excellent serving. With three consecutive service winners in the final game of the set, she evened the match.

  "Lindsay played so well, and I just had to stay on my toes the whole match," Williams said. "I just kept searching for the answers."

  Davenport, the 1999 Wimbledon champion, couldn't recover after she lost her serve to fall behind 3-1 in the final set. She hasn't beaten Williams since 2000 and now trails in the rivalry 12-10.

  Clijsters dropped a set for the first time in the tourna-ment against Italy's Farina Elia, then won nine consecutive games to take control. She closed out the win with three aces in the final game.

  Clijsters is still looking for her first Grand Slam title after losing in the French Open final last month against fellow Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne.

  "I just had to find my footwork," said Clijsters, the French Open runner-up. "I felt like I wasn't moving as well as I have been. Once I found it I started playing very well."

  The second-seeded Belgian, whose father Leo was Belgium's soccer player of the year in 1988, has now reached the semifinals of all 11 events she has played this year - winning four titles.

  Elia reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in 44 attempts.

  Agassi's exit on Monday also means there are no past winners in the quarterfinals. The last time that happened was in 1973, when a player boycott diluted the field.

  It's the first time in the Open era that the two top-seeded men both failed to make the last eight. Defending champion Lleyton Hewitt lost in the opening round.

  Mark Philippoussis will face Alexander Popp, a German ranked 198th, in a quarter final match today. No 5-seeded Andy Roddick, playing in his first Wimbledon quarterfinal, will meet unseeded Jonas Bjorkman.

  Roddick advanced by beating No 12 Paradorn Srichaphan 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Agassi's departure left Roddick as the lone American in the men's draw.

  "Little weird, huh?" Roddick said.

  No 4 Roger Federer, whose chances may be hurt by a back injury, will play No 8 Sjeng Schalken. And No 10 Tim Henman, bidding to become the first Englishman to win Wimbledon since 1936, will play the winner of the match that was to be completed Tuesday between French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero and No 13 Sebastien Grosjean.




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