Venus Williams – Perfect in Quarters

One big difference between Venus Williams and every other player left in the Ladies Draw at Wimbledon is that Venus is truly enjoying herself. Where other players are filled with tension, Venus is relaxed, comfortable and at home. Venus Williams, five-time Wimbledon Champion, is a beautiful tennis player and an exquisite ambassador of the game she plays.

As impressive as Venus has been on the court, she has been even more extraordinary off the court. Responding to tireless, senseless questions, Venus has been patient, gracious and even complimentary of lower echelon opponents.

Through her 5 matches, Venus has lost a total of 19 games. Yet, she has complimented the play of her opponents, been gracious and congratulatory in match-end handshakes. Venus Williams has acted like a champion and a player that expects to win the title.

Her 6-1, 6-2, drubbing of Aggie Radwanska not only showed the disparity in the ladies seedings but served as little more than a tuneup for the 3 seed. One had the feeling that this one could have been even more lopsided had Venus chosen that route.

As it was, the 67-minute skirmish ended as quickly as it began. There was no question who the better player was. With Venus powering 120 mph serves. Aggie was powerless to respond.

To be honest, Aggie did well to get this far. On this surface, at this point in the career of Venus Williams, Aggie suffered what any other player would have endured; a decisive, leave-nothing-to-the-imagination defeat at the hand of a great champion. Venus Williams will play in the finals at Wimbledon 2009. That match may well be her first test of the event.

Dinara Barely!

Dinara Safina let it all hang out in her quarterfinal battle with unheralded German Sabine Lisicki. Sporting a little more exposure than Wimbledon’s Centre Court is accustomed to, Dinara caught up with Sabine and then passed her by in the 2.5-hour match.

Empowered by 12 aces and by Dinara’s ineffective serving, Lisicki mounted more of a challenge than expected. Safina, the number one seed, recorded an inexplicable 15 double faults and seemed out of sorts throughout much of the match. The winner also committed 38 unforced errors in a performance that can hardly breed confidence heading to a semifinal meeting with Venus Williams.

Once again, Dinara often appears more concerned with approval from her coaches than her on-court bearing. While a competitive match, it hardly seemed compelling tennis.

Midway through the third set, Sabine needed assistance from the trainer, but the handwriting was on the wall. Safina recovered from the 5-7 first set to capture the second at 6-4 and storm through the third at 6-1.

For Dinara, it was her second three set win on Centre Court. The young Russian needs to pull herself in for her semifinal match against Venus. Another performance like today and she will once again be distraught at a Grand Slam. No player can hand Venus Williams 15 double faults and expect to be standing in two hours.

Elena – What’s Up?

In the wake of the Williams sisters, Elena Dementieva’s quiet, determined run through the Wimbledon field has gone relatively unnoticed. Yet, she has picked herself up from some subpar Grand Slam performances and resurrected her ranking to gain a berth in the semis.

Her total dominance of Francesca Schiavone culminated a Wimbledon charge in which she has not lost a set. The four seed appears poised to challenge.

Elena is the proud possessor of 438 career victories and looks every bit of her ranking. The pretty Russian was a semifinalist here last year and knows what to expect on Centre Court where she will be a decided underdog.

But, today she was the favorite, a role that has given her some trouble of late. The 5 foot 11 inch, 141 pound beauty reached the finals at the U.S Open and at Roland Garros in 2004 but then retreated. A bridesmaid-never-the-bride syndrome has followed Elena for almost four years, but something feels a little different this time around.

As with Dinara Safina, perhaps Elena’s sights were set a little lower. Perhaps, she has been successful because expectations have been reduced or because the media has been busy elsewhere. Regardless, Elena looks ready.

However, she did offer up 9 double faults and those kinds of stats do not get past the semis when a Williams is lurking in the weeds. She countered with 13 outright winners, but she is going to need considerably more firepower against team USA.

For the 43rd ranked Schiavone, a terrific run came to an abrupt end in a little more than an hour on Court One. The Wimbledon quarterfinals have clearly affirmed the seeding as the semis will consist of the top four seeds, a rare occurrence on the Ladies’ tour.

Serena Williams – Wow!

I have to say, I picked Victoria Azarenka. I like her. I still do. But, Serena, you are tough. You are powerful. You are a determined force who does not look like someone who will drop the ball until you have crossed the goal line.

Serena Williams is an exquisite tennis player with the mindset of a middle linebacker. She just keeps coming at you. In her quarterfinal match, she defeated probably the third best grass court player in the draw in Victoria Azarenka.

It was more than a win. It was more than a decisive win. It was surgical. So surgical in fact that it even quieted my frisky pony, Victoria. Serena Williams was so dominant that she beat the third best player in the draw 6-2, 6-3 in such a way that there was never any doubt about the outcome.

And, Azarenka played well! Better than anyone else has against either Williams sister. Victoria looked like she belonged on the court with Serena. When she broke and held to go up 3-2 in the second set, there was a glimmer of hope for more tennis today.

Of course, you knew what would happen. Serena took one look at her family and answered with two breaks and two holds to end the day.

Serena Williams had 9 aces, no double faults and 28 winners. I mean who can compete with that! Oh yes, there is that other American, the taller one, the one with 5 Wimbledon titles. That is the match of the tourney. That is the story of Ladies tennis this year.

Yes, Elena will go all out. Yes, Dinara finally has nothing to lose. But, the William’s girls have a date to play in the finals. You can book that one.

While all the big girls are out there today, you will be watching. You will probably hit some balls, work on that serve and be thinking about what went right and what went wrong.

Don’t you worry about it, little Melanie. As of today, you are the only professional tennis player at Wimbledon who has won six singles matches on the storied grass. While Jelena, Ana and Maria are aching, limping and soaking, you will be out hitting practice balls. That tells me something.

I know that you have seen it Melanie. Throughout your junior career, when your 5 foot 5 inch self had to play two matches a day, you saw those other competitors who were happy just to be there. The ones who would reach a certain level and then forget why they wanted it so much.

You were not one of those players at Wimbledon 2009. Thank you, Melanie. Your fourth round match was a little disappointing. But, Aggie Radwanska is a professional tennis player. She was unperturbed by the media glare surrounding you. She had a job to do and she did it. From Wimbledon 2009, that is the lesson you should learn.

Ms. Radwanska was not worried about losing to your little self. She focused on winning. She took that puny little serve of hers and made it hold up. Hey little Melanie, Aggie’s been around.

I watched every interview you took. I saw you on ESPN. I saw you acquit yourself beautifully, with sincerity, integrity and honesty, just like the way you play tennis. I like it. Your home schooling has gone well. As my mother would say, “proud to know you.” And, she would be!

I knew it would be difficult to get all that attention and then go out here on Monday and not be exhausted. It takes some players a lifetime to get comfortable with the interaction of media and tennis. I guess what I am saying is that you now need to learn how to be a superstar. Because, that is just what you are. And, we do not want any flash-in-the-pans here. We want the real deal. And, you are it.

If I were you, little Melanie, I would spend a little time with the Williams girls, especially Venus. Watch how she handles the media. Flawlessly, that’s how. Calm, low voice. Slow delivery. Somehow all the focus, all the poise comes through. Venus Williams knows how to handle the press and not be distracted. She knows how to deliver her message and keep the vultures at a distance.

You will need to learn that. And, yes, oh yes, work on the serve. So when we see you at the Open, you will have the media thing worked out and the serve a little crispier.

Melanie Oudin, you made Wimbledon us. We will enjoy watching Victoria fend off the likes of Serena, Venus, Dinara and Elena, but we’d rather you were still in it. Thank you for every qualifier, every point, every match. You have the heart of a lioness and champion. And, you may only lose it to my son.

By the way, he’s tall, handsome and has a good job. I’ll talk to him about your tennis career. We shall see you at the U.S. Open, where you will no longer have to qualify. Just show up with the lessons of Wimbledon under you belt and play tennis, very passionately. As long as you do that, the whole world is your oyster.

Melanie you arrived a 17-year old qualifier and you leave a tennis superstar. What more could anyone ask for? Hats off to you, Miss Oudin.

When beautiful 19-year old Victoria Azarenka wins the 2009 Wimbledon Championship, she will have prevailed over the most difficult draw in women’s tennis history. There, I have said it. I have said that Victoria will prevail and win the championship. I have said the draw was stacked against her.

You might remember that I also said Melanie Oudin would be Wimbledon’s Cinderella. She was. But, Victoria Azarenka is not too far behind. When she hoists the silverware, she will have earned the right, believe me.

Many of the Brits do not like Victoria. She grunts, groans and moans her way through points and matches. Apparently, these Brits are unfamiliar with LaMaze. Women’s tennis today sounds like a maternity ward. But, that’s the way it is. It is far easier to count the touring non-grunters than to count the grunters.

As Victoria recently said, “I have been doing it since I was 10 years old. I wasn’t really strong and that was what helped me to accelerate more, to put more power to the ball.” You know what, Victoria, if it works for you, it works for me. But, please don’t do it when you hoist the Championship Trophy.

On a day where my other Cinderella, Melanie Oudin, succumbed to the effects of too much media, too much hype and forgot that this was another match against another girl that she could beat, Victoria Azarenka overcame a very stubborn Nadia Petrova in three tense sets.

On a day where Venus beat Ana into submission and where Serena lost just four games and where the surprising Elena Dementieva looks ready to snap out of her slump and move past Elena Vesnina, Victoria Azarenka was out there a long time, working hard, hitting one gorgeous drive after another and moving gracefully across the court. We were blessed to see her play.

And, Nadia Petrova had it working. The Russian 10 seed, served powerfully, hit beautiful shots of her own and used a devastating drop shot to counter every move Victoria made. Victoria was soon grunting and surging, groaning and reaching and winning.

You may remember that Victoria had Venus on the ropes at Melbourne before all sorts of unusual things happened. You may remember that Victoria reached the quarters at Roland Garros. You may forget that she is a very nice, very elegant 19-year old. She is, trust me. You would like to have her over for dinner.

She is also trying to fend off a well-traveled group of American and Russian hierarchy. The Brits have made sure it was a full time job. In the 3rd round, she drew the testy Sorana Cirstea, of Paris fame, today Petrova, tomorrow Serena, Thursday Elena and most likely Venus in the finals. Wow! Could it be any more difficult?

Take for example Dinara Safina. She overcame hard playing Amelie Mauresemo and now plays Sabine Lisicki. Dinara may choke again, but could it be an easier?

Venus draws Odin conquerer, Aggie Radwanska, who I am sure is very pleasant despite not being welcome at my house anymore. Elena, who has yet to lose a set and is quietly and quickly moving through the draw plays unseeded Francesca Schiavone. Elena has some choking issues of her own, but really how does that happen? How are all these talents at the bottom of the draw sheet?

Hey, if you looked at Victoria’s draw, you would grunt and groan too. So, instead of being a typical tennis frontrunner, come on over to the world of Victoria Azarenka and see how it is in the real world of a non-prima donna tennis champion. You see that is what Azarenka is all about. That is why she has so many fans. She is a hard-working, grind-it-out player that leaves nothing on the court. When Victoria walks off the court, she is spent, emotionally and physically.

After Azarenka took the first set from Petrova in a tiebreaker, Nadia needed a timeout to get some ice on her legs and have her blood pressure checked. These things happen when it is going well for Azarenka.

Petrova recovered. You knew she would. She stormed through the second set at 6-2. The Russian’s serve was dominant and it looked like the cooled off Azarenka would not avenge last year’s loss.

In the third set, there were five breaks but Victoria captured the key one at 4-3. In the final three games, Victoria lost just three points. Yes, she groaned, yes she grunted and yes she played like a champions for 2 hours and 35 minutes in the grueling heat.

Victoria Azarenka, your time has come. Remmeber what you did to Serena in Key Biscayne this year. Take no prisoners. Play like a champion and grunt as loud as you like. You are the best!