Serena, Sharapova Reach Wimbledon Final, Men On Deck Today

Posted on July 2, 2004

Serena Williams will have a shot at a third consecutive Wimbledon title after narrowly defeating France's Amelie Mauresmo 6-7, 7-5(4), 6-4 in the semifinals Thursday at the All England Club.

Mauresmo had treatment for a back injury during her semifinal, the same injury that has dogged her for much of the year.

Serena, who has beaten her sister Venus in the last two Wimbledon finals, now faces the Russian onslaught in the form of Maria "Grunt-o-rama" Sharapova, who outlasted veteran Lindsay Davenport 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-1.

The 17-year-old Sharapova will try and make it two slam titles for Russia after Anastasia Myskina won the French Open roughly a month ago.

Sharapova is the first Russian woman to reach the Wimbledon final since Olga Morozova in 1974, and the first attractive Russian ever to reach the championship.

"It's unbelievable," said Sharapova who, as you can see by the above picture, is one of the few players with the ability to sit up and smile while sleeping. "I'm in the final. It's absolutely crazy. It's my favorite Grand Slam. I never in the world expected to do so well here, so early. I'm amazed."

After a second-set rain delay, Davenport held serve but then lost 12 of the next 16 games. The 28-year-old Davenport said it was probably her last match at Wimbledon: "I'd be surprised if I was back."

On today for the women are the doubles semis with (3)Navratilova/Raymond vs. (5)Huber/Sugiyama, and (1)Ruano Pascual/Suarez vs. (6)Black/Stubbs.

On tap today for the men's semifinals are (1)Federer vs. (10)Grosjean (Frenchman leads meetings 2-1, all in 2001), and (2)Roddick vs. unseeded Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic (A-Rod leads 1-0, with a three-set win at Queen's last month on grass).

In the doubles semis it's (1)Bjorkman/Woodbridge vs. (7)Arthurs/Hanley, and (5)Knowles/Nestor vs. (16)Knowle/Zimonjic (finally the much-anticipated Knowles vs. Knowle confrontation. Who is the better Knowle(s)!?!).

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NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Three of the four men's semifinalists at Wimbledon repeated from last year...Baby Goran is the only men's semifinalist without a career grasscourt title...Andy Roddick and Sebastien Grosjean have reached the semis without dropping a set...The last American to reach the Wimbledon men's final? Pete Sampras in 2000...Baby Goran is bidding to become the third unseeded player to reach a Grand Slam final this year, following Marat Safin (Australian Open) and Gaston Gaudio (Roland Garros)...32-year-old former No. 1 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario will be the first player to participate in five Olympics. A member of the Spanish Olympic Committee (one way to get on the squad), Sanchez-Vicario participated in the 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000 Games, winning four medals, more than any other Spanish athlete...47-year-old Martina Navratilova will become the oldest Olympic participant in the modern era...Twenty-seven of the Top 30 men will compete in the men's singles competition at the Olympics, and 23 of the Top 30 women...Tom Gullikson, coach of Jennifer Capriati, doesn't know if he's still in the camp or not: "I have no idea. All we really talked about was Wimbledon." She'll fax you...If Fed wins Wimbledon, Lleyton Hewitt will have lost to the eventual champion in all three slams this year...ESPN is keeping its fingers crossed for that Ancic-Grosjean ratings-winner final...Nick Bollettieri on Maria "Grunt-o-whack-a-mole" Sharapova: "Tennis is what drives her. Forget the outside interests such as modelling work. She does some of that but I can tell you that compared to her tennis that's all bullshit to her. It's what she does on court that she cares about above everything." Watch the language Nick, go hit the tanning bed...Kent teenager Miles Kasiri yesterday lifted some of the gloom surrounding British tennis following Tim Henman's exit by reaching the semifinals of the boys' Wimbledon singles...Justine Henin-Hardenne has been hitting the practice court, but says she is still uncertain about when she'll make her return...As usual, Serena praised her win over Amelie Mauresmo by saying she played horribly: "I didn't have a game today. I just really had heart. I made lots of errors. I don't remember getting first serves in. I just kept fighting with what I had. I had a good volley, that's about it." You're all heart Serena. Have you ever heard Serena say she played well in a close match?...Serena has won 20 straight at Wimbledon now...At 17, Maria Sharapova is the second youngest to reach a Wimbledon final (Hingis was 16 in 1997)...No seed outside of the Top 5 on the ladies' side has won Wimbledon in the Open Era...Forecast: Periods of showers Friday. Fewer showers on Saturday. Whatever.