Serena Clubs Capriati, Henman Wimbledon Dream Ends

Serena is closing in on becoming the third woman in 35 years to win three straight Wimbledon titles.

"I've been thinking about that since the start of the tournament," Serena said. "I'm really excited."

Also into the semis was No. 4 seed Amelie Mauresmo, who overcame a second-set hiccup to beat No. 9 Paola Suarez 6-0, 5-7, 6-1.

Semifinal play Thursday on the women's side features (5)Davenport vs. (13)Sharapova, and (1)Serena vs. (4)Mauresmo.

On the men's side Wednesday top-seeded Roger Federer continued his humiliation of the field, beating former Wimbledon champ and No. 7 seed Lleyton Hewitt 6-1, 6-7(1), 6-0, 6-4.

Afterwards, Hewitt pegged Federer to hold the trophy aloft on Sunday, or Monday or Tuesday if you believe the weathermen in London.

"I'd be very surprised if he doesn't win his third major on Sunday," Hewitt said. "So, you know, there's another one to him. That's two in one year, I guess. He can play on all surfaces. You know, the way that he played in Hamburg on clay, on a very slow clay court, which really shouldn't suit his game that much. Beat (Carlos) Moya, (Guillermo) Coria in the final. I think he's going to have chances at every major."

Also into the semis were (2)Andy Roddick (d. (12)Schalken), (10)Sebastien Grosjean (d. Mayer), and unseeded Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic ending No. 5 seed Tim Henman's dream in straight sets.

Today on court for the men are (5)Knowles/Nestor vs. Gimelstob/Humphries, and (6)Black/Ullyett vs. (16)Knowle/Zimonjic.

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NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Serena has now won 19 straight Wimbledon matches, while Roger Federer is up to 22 straight wins on grass. Federer's set streak (36) and games held streak (104) were both snapped by Hewitt...How good did Sir Rog look in that first set destruction of Lleyton Hewitt?...The Oddsmakers picked Mario Ancic the fifth favorite at the start of the fortnight. What did they know?...Prior to his match with Roddick, the last two Wimbledon champions beat Sjeng Schalken en route to their title...Andy Roddick and Sebastien Grosjean have yet to drop a set...Andy Roddick has won 20 of his last 21 grass matches, and he's on a ten match win streak...If you were the girlfriend of Andy Roddick, would you sit in the player box next to Brad Gilbert? Exactly..Maria Sharapova is the youngest Wimbledon semifinalist since Martina Hingis won Wimbledon in 1997...Serena Williams has dropped just 17 games this fortnight...ESPN's Pam Shriver tooting her own horn in writing previews of the women's matches: "How about that -- perfect picks in the first two quarterfinals as Lindsay Davenport advanced to face Maria Sharapova in the semifinals." Way to go out on a limb, a monkey could have picked those... A fragile Jennifer Capriati snapped at the media following her loss to Serena Williams, hearing the word "rivalry" one too many times: "Maybe if you (journalists) wouldn't talk about it so much, it would have been a better match," a perturbed Capriati said. "From the first press conference, it's like, you know, already talking about the quarterfinal match. It's like, you know, you shouldn't. Each match at a time." Like, sorry, sorry you're such a head case...Venus and Serena Williams will now skip representing the U.S. in Fed Cup play next month against Austria, no reason given...NBC analyst Tracy Austin says Jennifer Capriati was too fat to beat Serena on grass: "In order to win, Jennifer would have needed to serve huge and play inside the baseline to try to jump on Serena's big kick second serves. Instead, she was gasping all match. Jennifer admitted after the match that's she not in top shape. That's a big part of her problem. On grass, you have to be able to get off the mark very quickly as it's tougher to recover. Jennifer needs to get her first step back or she'll have similar problems on hardcourts this summer. Even though she is 28-years-old, I believe that she can contend for titles all summer long. But she and her new trainer will have to focus on her nutrition and her foot speed."...Luke and Murphy Jensen beat Robert Seguso and Cedric Pioline in Men's 35's doubles action yesterday at Wimbledon...Right after his win over Tim Henman, Mario Ancic said he hadn't yet heard from Goran Ivanisevic, but was waiting for the text message: "No, I mean, just too quickly, but I think he'll send SMS for sure."...Tim Henman said all was done after he lost the first set breaker: "Ended up being an important tiebreak, I think. After he was able to win that set, I think, he gained confidence, and his level, if anything probably got a little bit better. And I think, you know, second and third sets, my level went down. You know, there's no question that the better player won on the day."...Who thought there would be a year that Tim Henman would get farther at the French than at Wimbledon?...Tim Henman post-match excerpt: "Q. Will you watch the final on Sunday? TIM HENMAN: I don't know. Q. Will it be golf again? TIM HENMAN: Don't know. Q. How will you spend the next few days? TIM HENMAN: Don't know."...Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic is actually taller than his namesake...Forecast: Spotty showers and with more on the way Friday.