Nadal, Womens Semis Today at Wimbledon

The biggest stunner on the day came from No. 18 seed Marcos Baghdatis, who before this year showed zero proficiency on the grass, in 2006 taking advantage of the slower, higher-bouncing grasscourts to oust former Wimbledon champ and No. 6 seed Lleyton Hewitt 6-1, 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-2.

It looked like the Cypriot was going for the throat-clutcher after leading a set and two breaks at 3-0, throwing in some nervous service games and tentative play to let the Aussie "C'mon!" his way back into the second set. In the third Baghdatis righted his ship by taking the tiebreak, then cruised to a 6-2 finale in the fourth set.

"In the middle of the second set I started realizing I was beating Hewitt and started choking a bit," Baghdatis said. "But the most important thing is that I got through."

The final quarterfinal of the day between No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal and No. 22 Jarkko Nieminen was postponed due to darkness.

In doubles quarterfinal action No. 3 seeds Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor won the longest match in Grand Slam history, edging No. 8 seeds Simon Aspelin/Todd Perry 23-21 in the fifth set, and No. 7 Martin Damm/Leander Paes upset No. 4 Paul Hanley/Kevin Ullyett 6-2 in the fifth.

Wimbledon Womens Semifinal Preview

LONDON, UK -- Four will become two on the lawns of the All-England Club Thursday, as the semifinals of The Championships at Wimbledon take place. The world's Top 4 players are all in action, ensuring some of the highest-quality competition on one of the game's greatest stages.

(1) Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) vs. (4) Maria Sharapova (RUS) -- Mauresmo leads 2-0

Two players who have excelled mightily on these lawns in recent years will square off as current world No.1 Mauresmo faces former No.1 Sharapova.

After not making it past Week One in her first three appearances here, Mauresmo has now made it to the semifinals in each of her last four attempts, but still seeks her first final, falling to Serena Williams in 2002 and 2004 and to Lindsay Davenport last year. She will put her all-court game to the test against another huge-hitter in this year's semis, namely Sharapova. Sharapova was stunning in her first trip here, reaching the fourth round as a 91st-ranked wild card in 2003, and was again stunning in her second trip, storming to the title as an unheralded No.13 seed. Last year, the Russian teen was again in solid form, cruising through her first five rounds before falling to Venus Williams in the semis. Two polished Wimbledon records (Mauresmo 23-6, Sharapova 20-2) will clash in this match-up.

"She seemed to be very confident out there and on her service game especially," said Mauresmo on Sharapova's quarterfinal match with Elena Dementieva. "We'll see. It's gonna be a different day. It's going to be a tough match, I think. When you get in semifinal of a Grand Slam, it has to be."

"Amelie is No. 1 in the world," Sharapova stated. "She's playing great tennis. I love the challenge of going out there, competing against the best in the world."

Based on their head-to-head, Mauresmo should come in with high expectations. She has won both of their prior meetings, both coincidentally at the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships the last two years. In the 2004 season-ending event, Mauresmo defeated Sharapova in round robin play, 75 64, but it was Sharapova who went on to win the title regardless. And in 2005 the Frenchwoman prevailed in the semifinals, 76(1) 63, overcoming a 3-0 first set deficit and cruising from the tie-break on. As this is a similarly-quick playing surface, those two wins should give Mauresmo a psychological edge in her quest for a Wimbledon final debut.

(2) Kim Clijsters (BEL) vs. (3) Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL) -- Henin-Hardenne leads 11-10 (Clijsters leads 10-9 in Tour matches)

One of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's deepest and most competitive overall rivalries will resume as Belgium's best takes the court.

In addition to their incredible achievements on other surfaces, both players have excelled on grass in the past, Clijsters reaching the semifinals here in 2003 (in addition to two grass court titles during the regular season) and Henin-Hardenne reaching one final here, in 2001, and two semis, in 2002 and 2003 (having also won two career grass court titles). Both have cruised into this fortnight's final four without the loss of a set but are coming off difficult tests in the quarterfinals, Clijsters overcoming a 5-2 deficit with set point in the second set of her 64 75 win over Chinese trailblazer Li Na, and Henin-Hardenne going toe-to-toe with French breakout star Severine Br˜Dnd, battling hard for a 64 64 victory.

"It's really important to play aggressive tennis," Clijsters said on the upcoming match. "She's the type of player that gets a lot of balls back. She's worked a lot on strength. She's more powerful than she used to be. I have to be aggressive, make sure that I keep it up, don't let her try to dictate the points too much."

"It's gonna be a tough mission for me on Thursday," Henin-Hardenne said. "I will try to give my best, as always. I'm just gonna try to keep the same preparation, nothing different from what I did in the last few weeks, and the best will win."

Among all of the matches in this pair's head-to-head, their grass court and Grand Slam encounters stick out the most when considering the upcoming battle. They have played three times on grass, most recently just the week before this tournament, Henin-Hardenne winning that in three sets. They have also played six times in majors; Clijsters won the first two, but Henin-Hardenne has won four consecutive since, including a 63 62 rout just a month ago in the same round at Roland Garros. In particular, Henin-Hardenne's Grand Slam streak in this head-to-head should give her some extra confidence heading into Thursday's semis.
-- WTA

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