Well, that’s a wrap on the women’s quarter-finals. The last four has a distinctly familiar feel, with Serena Williams in one half and Venus in the other. The unenviable task of trying to prevent a fifth all-Williams final falls to Vesnina, who plays Serena in the top half of the draw, and the Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber, the fourth seed, who faces Venus in the bottom half. Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of your day!
“I held my level for the whole match and I’m just so happy,” Vesnina adds. “I knew she was in great form, but me too! I feel that I’m playing better and better every match … I was really saying to myself that I have to enjoy it because, no matter what, I’m playing Wimbledon.”
Next up for Vesnina is Serena, who saw off Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-4. If she plays like that, she could ask some stern questions of the defending champion. “She’s one of the greatest tennis players in history,” reflects Vesnina, “but on Thursday I’ll try to go on court and show my best tennis … no matter what, I just need to enjoy it and play my game.”
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Game, set and match Vesnina, 6-2, 6-2!
Second set: Cibulkova 2-6, 2-6 Vesnina* (*denotes server)
Elena Vesnina falls to her knees in triumph, disbelief etched on her face. She is a Wimbledon semi-finalist. That was a ruthless performance, even if Cibulkova was unable to give of her best.
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Second set: Cibulkova 2-6, 2-5 Vesnina* (*denotes server)
Cibulkova holds to love but it’s surely too little, too late. She leathers a forehand winner to hold, but the distraught look on the face of her fiance, Miso Navara, tells a story. She just hasn’t been able to get going today.
Second set: Cibulkova 2-6, 1-5 Vesnina* (*denotes server)
Got an invitation to Dominika Cibulkova’s wedding on Saturday? You have? Well, don’t cancel your hotel room. Despite signs that Vesnina is feeling a bit wobbly as the finish line nears – and for all Cibulkova’s desperate efforts to get herself going – the Russian gets the job done. On the opening point, Cibulkova slams an off backhand return for a clean winner. Bet that felt good. She repeats the trick a couple of points later, firing a forehand winner crosscourt. But Vesnina, though much more vocal in that game, is not to be denied. She seals it to 30 and is a game away from the semis.
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Second set: Cibulkova* 2-6, 1-4 Vesnina (*denotes server)
What a shame this match has failed so spectacularly to live up to expectations. It’s just too bad. Had Cibulkova managed to serve out the match at a set and 5-4 up against Radwanska in the previous round, we would doubtless be seeing a very different contest. She’s not giving up, though. With typical defiance, the 19th seeded Slovak sends down a 101mph ace to belatedly make the second-set scoreboard. Still, Vesnina can surely only beat herself from here. Will the Russian’s nerve hold?
Second set: Cibulkova 2-6, 0-4 Vesnina* (*denotes server)
Vesnina holds courtesy of her second ace. We haven’t even been playing for an hour, and she’s within two games of a Wimbledon semi-final. That epic win over Radwanska has clearly cost the normally fleet-footed Cibulkova dearly.
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Second set: Cibulkova* 2-6, 0-3 Vesnina (*denotes server)
Vesnina is utterly ruthless. Such is her overwhelming superiority – not to mention her good sportswomanship – that she applauded a rare winner return from Cibulkova a few minutes ago. She can’t afford to relax too much, the Russian – surely Cibulkova will start to come back at her soon – but you can see why she’s confident. A second break leaves Cibulokova staring down the barrel.
Second set: Cibulkova 2-6, 0-2 Vesnina*(*denotes server)
She’s relentless, is Vesnina. She’s reached the fourth round in Melbourne a couple of times in the past, but this is her best run at a major and she’s clearly determined to make the most of it. On game point, she races to a short ball – eyes narrowed, racket set, she’s a real picture of intent as she moves forward – and completes the job with something to spare.
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Second set: Cibulkova*2-6, 0-1 Vesnina (*denotes server)
For very different reasons, both players needed a good start to this second set. It’s Vesnina who gets it, breaking to 30 despite Cibulkova’s change of outfit. Who said clothes maketh the wo/man?
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Cibulkova has left the court for a brief comfort break. Meanwhile, it’s 6-4, 2-2 in favour of Serena Williams on Centre Court. On Court 3, Tomas Berdych has won his match against Jiri Vesely – it was held overnight at two sets apiece, you’ll recall – 6-3 in the fifth. Berdych will face Lucas Pouille in the last eight on Wednesday.
Vesnina wins the first set 6-2!
First set: Cibulkova 2-6 Vesnina* (*denotes server)
Normally such a dogged competitor, Cibulkova has yet to find her range in any department. The point is underlined here when she fires her first two returns long. Most un-Dominika, that. It’s no way to start the game and the deficit proves irretrievable. At 30-15, Vesnina clubs a huge forehand winner to bring up two set points, the second of which she takes when Cibulkova nets a backhand. That was a lovely set of tennis from the Russian.
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First set: Cibulkova* 2-5 Vesnina (*denotes server)
At 15-30, the bending Cibulkova – never one to spurn an opportunity to get up close and personal with the ground – gets down unfeasibly low to a backhand. She fires it crosscourt into Vesnina’s backhand corner, and the lower-ranked woman can only stand and stare. What a winner. It’s not quite a turning point, but it gives Cibulkova the platform for a much-needed hold. Better from the Slovak.
First set: Cibulkova 1-5 Vesnina* (*denotes server)
Looking much the fresher and more focused, Vesnina can seemingly do no wrong. She consolidates the second break from deuce, Cibulkova twice netting fairly routine forehands, and virtually has one foot in the last four already. Cibulkova needs to find a reaction from somewhere, and fast. This quarter-final is passing her by.
Serena Williams is a set to the good on Centre Court. You can follow that one here.
First set: Cibulkova* 1-4 Vesnina (*denotes server)
Cibulkova may not have to cancel those wedding plans after all. Not at this rate, anyway. The Slovak hasn’t yet turned up in this match, and with 22 minutes gone she’s just netted a backhand to cough up a second break. Woeful stuff from the 19th seed, who can only get better.
First set: Cibulkova 1-3 Vesnina* (*denotes server)
Vesnina seems unbelievably friendly. Every time she hits the ball, she emits a strange sound that, while it may mean something else in Russian, sounds for all the world like “Hiya”. Cibulkova isn’t finding her too friendly, mind. Vesnina holds comfortably to move 3-1 ahead.
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First set: Cibulkova* 1-2 Vesnina (*denotes server)
Well, well. Having narrowly averted disaster in her opening service game, Cibulkova quickly falls 0-40 behind in her second, a lovely backhand drop shot from Vesnina forcing her into an unwelcome and unrewarding sprint at 0-30. A double-fault gives Vesnina the break at the first time of asking. Slow start from the 19th seed.
First set: Cibulkova 1-1 Vesnina* (*denotes server)
If Cibulkova is a little weary after her fourth-round marathon against Radwanska, Vesnina will know how she feels. The Russian came through an equally bruising encounter to get here, beating Ekaterina Makarova – her doubles partner – 9-7 in the third. Not that she looks too tired, if the flashing forehand winner with which she seals a hold to 30 is anything to go by.
First set: Cibulkova* 1-0 Vesnina (*denotes server)
Cibulkova, who came through a marathon three-set contest with third seed Aggie Radwanska not 24 hours ago, opens the match on serve. And what an extraordinary serve it is. She stoops low, head bowed, and completes a huge arc before throwing the ball so high that it can probably be seen from the top of Church Road. Still, there’s nothing wrong with a singular service motion – it didn’t seem to do John McEnroe much harm – and her unorthodox action has certainly served her well of late. The Slovak won the title in Eastbourne and has continued in wining vein at the All England Club, to the point where she may have to cancel her wedding – scheduled for Saturday in Bratislava – if she wins this match. After an eight-minute opening game, her chances of doing so have just improved – she’s held.
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But now we’ll switch our attention to the second quarter-final on Court One, between Dominika Cibulkova and Elena Vesnina, the world No50 – she has been ranked as high as 21st – who is playing her first grand slam quarter-final.
Also in action in the girls’ singles is Britain’s Jodie Anna Burrage, who is playing the seventh-seeded Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska. The 17-year-old Burrage, lest we forget, beat Marion Bartoli – Wimbledon champion at the time, if you please – in an exhibition in Liverpool a couple of years back. As I write, Burrage leads 4-3 in the first set.
So let’s have a quick catch-up on what’s been happening elsewhere. Serena Williams has just started against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the Russian world No23, on Centre Court. You can follow that one here with Tim Hill. In the men’s doubles, meanwhile, Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares – who, as you probably know, were locked in a titanic tussle overnight, having left the court yesterday evening tied at 13-13 against Mate Pavic and Michael Venus – are through to the last eight. The third seeds won 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 4-6, 16-14. Phew.
“When you can walk to the net as the winner, that’s the goal, thats the dream,” says Venus. “I love playing the game, I always have – although when you’re winning matches it makes it that much sweeter, I’ve got to admit that … For Venus Williams this is an awesome day.” I’ll say.
“Come on!!!” cries a clenched-fist Venus after that final point. Her delight is obvious. What a player she is; the oldest in the women’s draw at 36, but looking as formidable as ever despite all the health problems she’s had.
Venus Williams wins 7-6, 6-2!
Let’s face it, serving for a place in the last four at Wimbledon can’t be an easy task. Still, Venus has done it a few times before. Shvedova goes down fighting, not least when she produces a nice crush and rush routine to pull it back to 30-30, but a missed forehand return brings up match point for Venus. The first one goes begging when some heavy hitting from the world No96 gets the better of the former champion, but another is not long in the coming and this time Shvedova nets a forehand.
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Or maybe not. Two quick points carry Shvedova to 30-0, at which point she sends down a 113mph ace. A couple of wayward points give Venus a foothold in the game, but Shvedova follows up a big serve with a brutal backhand winner to make it 5-2. Venus to serve for it.
And so to Court One, where Williams has just held to go 5-1 up. They’ve been playing for an hour and 34 minutes, but the American looks finally to have broken her opponent’s resistance.
Kerber says she’s having her “best year” and hopes to go further. I’ll bet she does. She’ll need to serve better than she did there, though, if she’s to find a way past the winner of the Williams-Shvedova match. Still, as Kerber points out, winning the final point is what matters. After a disappointing clay-court swing, the German will be delighted to be back in the last four for the first time since 2012. As for Simona Halep, having fought so hard to get back into that second set, she’ll be inconsolable about her performance in the tiebreak. At 1-1, everything looked to be going fine for the Romanian; after that, not so much.
“I think we both played a really good match on a very high level,” says Kerber. “We’re both return players.” You’re not kidding, Angie.
Venus Williams is well on her way to yet another semi-final. She’s a set and 3-1 up on Court one …
Kerber wins 7-5, 7-6!
Second set: Kerber 7-5, 7-6 (7-2) Halep* (*denotes server)
Wretched luck for Halep at 5-2. She’s all over the net with Kerber seemingly at her mercy, but she is stymied by the the cruellest of net cords and the ball end sup in her midriff. That brings up four match points for Kerber, but she only needs the one. The German has yet to drop a set over the fortnight.
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Second set: Kerber 7-5, 6-6 (5-1) Halep* (*denotes server)
After a vibrant start to the tiebreak, with both players covering every inch of the baseline, some ragged play from Halep hands Kerber the advantage. From 1-1 to 5-1 in a flash …
Second set: Kerber 7-5, 6-6 Halep* (*denotes server)
This has been a second set played very much in the mind, and Halep’s is as tough as they come. What resolve. Having struggled throughout on serve, she finds an extra gear here to pull off a hold built on some brilliant hitting off the forehand side. A superb crosscourt pass, flicked beyond Kerber with only a couple of centimetres for which to aim, is arguably the pick of the bunch. Wonderful play from the Romanian. A tiebreak it is.
It’s going with serve between Williams and Shvedova at 1-1. There’s a long way to go in that one.
Second set: Kerber* 7-5, 6-5 Halep (*denotes server)
Kerber holds, but it was a near-run thing. A viciously sliced backhand at 30-15 just about cleared the net, landing short enough to present Haelp with an awkward mid-court backhand from well below net height. That gave the German the platform she needed to find the baseline with a peach of a forehand on game point and secure a nerve-steadying hold. Absorbing stuff.
Second set: Kerber 7-5, 5-5 Halep* (*denotes server)
Michael Stich, champion here in 1991, is looking on from the Royal Box. Now there was a player who knew how to serve; how these two must wish they could borrow the German’s silken delivery for a few games. Still, Halep manages without for now. As Kerber’s error count creeps up, so too does the Romanian’s resolve. That was a comfortable hold – and we haven’t said that often this afternoon – and we’re back on terms at 5-5. Tremendous resilience from the fifth seed.
Second set: Kerber* 7-5, 5-4 Halep (*denotes server)
She may not be playing her best tennis but she makes balls, does Halep. And it gets her off the hook here as she breaks Kerber with some ease to retain an interest in the match. She couldn’t, could she?
Venus Williams has recovered to win the opening set 7-6 on Court One. Shvedova will be kicking herself …
Second set: Kerber 7-5, 5-3 Halep* (*denotes server)
More dismal serving from Halep. At 0-30, she survives despite sending down a truly horrible second serve – weak, timorous, apologetic, it’s travelling at just 75mph – that sits up before Kerber almost screaming: “Hit me”. The German can’t find the court with her return, but she makes no such mistake on the points that ensue and will now serve for a place in the last four. Oh, Simona …
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Shvedova is 5-3 up with a mini-break in the first-set tiebreak against Venus …
Second set: Kerber* 7-5, 4-3 Halep (*denotes server)
Definitive, did I say? Scratch that. Just when it appeared Kerber was on a roll with ball in hand, Halep comes up with some fine returning to claim a love break. No shot is finer than the deep, deep backhand return with which she sets up the final point. The pendulum swings again …
Second set: Kerber 7-5, 4-2 Halep* (*denotes server)
Well, that could be definitive. Kerber breaks to love, sealing the game with a backhand winner after sprinting forwards to meet a short ball from Halep, who played a couple of dismal points in that game. Dear me.
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Over on Court One, Venus Williams and Yaroslava Shvedova are into a first-set tiebreak. I’ll keep you posted on the outcome …
Second set: Kerber* 7-5, 3-2 Halep (*denotes server)
As we pass the hour mark, Kerber reels off a quick service game with the insouciant air of a woman who has been doing this kind of stuff all afternoon. She hasn’t, of course, but it’s a great sign that the players have finally found their range on serve. Let’s hope it lasts.
Second set: Kerber 7-5, 2-2 Halep* (*denotes server)
With Halep serving at 15-30, Kerber rolls out the rocket launcher to get back on terms. When one thundering forehand fails to break the Romanian’s resistance, Kerber simply hits the next even harder until, finally, she conjures an absolute screamer into Halep’s forehand corner. But Halep is such a great competitor. Unperturbed, she replies with her first ace of the match before making light of some more ferocious hitting from Kerber – including a winning return from the German to get back to deuce – to clinch the game. That’s the first time in the match Halep has held two successive service games. Great stuff from the Romanian, who is fighting for her life.
Second set: Kerber* 7-5, 2-1 Halep (*denotes server)
As Kerber seals the third successive hold of this set, the match is starting to assume a more conventional air. It’s good to see, because it would be a shame if the contest were decided by the service shortcomings of two women who bring so much quality to the court in other respects.
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Second set: Kerber 7-5, 1-1 Halep* (*denotes server)
Venus Williams has broken back over on Court One, where Shvedova is serving to stay in the set at 4-5. Meanwhile, Halep securse only her second hold of the match as Kerber sends a return long. That was vital for the Romanian, who can ill afford to let her opponent build up an early head of steam in this set.
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Second set: Kerber* 7-5, 1-0 Halep (*denotes server)
Some lovely play from Halep at 30-30 – she draws Kerber forward before moving in to volley a mid-court ball into space – sets up a break point opportunity for the Romanian. But Kerber’s greater power is starting to tell now, and she hits back with some penetrating play from the baseline to claw back the game. Halep looks thoroughly despondent as she trudges to the other end, and well she might. She’s been a little flat so far.
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Kerber wins the opening set 7-5!
First set: Kerber 7-5 Halep* (*denotes server)
Some probing baseline exchanges go this way and that before the set ends, perhaps appropriately, with a Halep double fault. The serve – and the Romanian’s inability to hold it – has pretty much been the determining factor so far. It’s a shame, because there have been some great rallies. The opening point was shaping up to be the best of the match, the two players both hitting with real depth and purpose until Halep – having gained a slight edge in the exchange – tried to turn up the heat on a forehand and went long. From there, Kerber stepped on the gas with some ferocious forehands to bring up a set point that saw Halep shoot herself in the foot. Still, there’s mileage in this contest yet, you sense.
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First set: Kerber* 6-5 Halep (*denotes server)
She only does love holds, does Angie Kerber. Having produced a flawless performance on serve in the opening game she does so again here to keep her nose in front. Strange old match, this.
First set: Kerber 5-5 Halep* (*denotes server)
Talking of breaks, Shvedova is serving at 3-2 against Venus over on Court One. Looks like that could be a long one. Meanwhile, Halep finally – finally! – steadies the ship on serve, thanks largely to some explosive hitting off the forehand. She’s starting to find the corners with her groundstrokes now, an improvement wrought largely by the addition of a little extra pace on the first serve. Encouraging for the Romanian.
First set: Kerber* 5-4 Halep (*denotes server)
We’ve only been going for half an hour, but the love hold Kerber conjured in the opening game feels like a lifetime ago. A flurry of forehand errors hands Halep another break, but the Romanian will need to break an eight-game sequence of breaks if she is to stay in contention in this opening set.
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First set: Kerber 5-3 Halep* (*denotes server)
The serve has never been Halep’s greatest weapon – at 5ft 6in that’s perhaps no surprise – but she has to find an extra gear from somewhere. The last delivery of that game was a meagre 72mph, and the Romanian has now been broken four times in a row while barely mustering a handful of the 20-odd points she has played with ball in hand. Kerber to serve for the set.
First set: Kerber* 4-3 Halep (*denotes server)
As Halep rolls a forehand winner into the open court after pulling Kerber way out wide to the left, he players continue to exchange breaks. There’s been just one hold in seven games so far. Nonetheless, the match has been a great advert for women’s tennis, with the movement and athleticism of both players breathtaking at times.
First set: Kerber 4-2 Halep*(*denotes server)
Halep pulls Kerber from pillar to post, but it’s all to no avail as the German breaks again. The rallies are hard fought, but so far it’s Kerber who has the greater penetration off the ground. A lacerating forehand at 15-30 sets up the break – the depth of the German’s shots has been exemplary – and it’s converted on the next point when Halep nets a forehand. Absorbing stuff.
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Over on Court one, Venus Williams had to battle long and hard to claim her opening service game. This despite some enormous serving and a backhand winner that threatened to break the sound barrier. The former champion made it over the line, though, and it’s now 1-1 and going with serve.
First set: Kerber* 3-2 Halep (*denotes server)
in the blink of an eye, Halep breaks straight back. Service-dominated tennis this isn’t.
First set: Kerber* 3-1 Halep (*denotes server)
Now we’re cooking. That was a brilliant game, full of running, rallying and resilience from both players, but it’s Kerber who breaks again to re-establish the advantage in this opening set. At 15-15, Halep clinches a quite brilliant exchange when the scrambling Kerber, drawn forward and then lobbed by the Romanian, is unable to find the court with a backhand. But Kerber hits back in style, battling back into contention before hanging tough at the net to thwart Halep, who screws a forehand pass wide.
First set: Kerber* 2-1 Halep (*denotes server)
Six minutes gone, two breaks on the board. Halep hits back in style, breaking to love to get back on terms as Kerber drags a two-hander into the alley. No sign of nerves there from the Romanian; in fact, it was Kerber’s turn to look cautious. Three games in, and already the mental battle between these two looks fascinating.
First set: Kerber 2-0 Halep* (*denotes server)
Kerber takes full advantage of a tentative start by Halep, who double-faults at 0-15 before watching an immaculate double-hander whistle past her at the baseline. A couple of baseline exchanges ensue. Halep wins the first when she moves up the court to slot away a mid-court ball, but on the second Kerber makes no mistake, pulling Halep wide on the backhand to elicit an error. First blood to the German.
First set: Kerber* 1-0 Halep (*denotes server)
A confident start by Kerber, who holds to love. Halep struggled to find her range on the return there. Still, early days.
It’s Kerber to serve …
So what should we expect here? Well, the left-handed Kerber is the more powerful of the two, which is never a bad thing to have going for you on a grass court. As mentioned, the German is also the fresher. But Halep was born to run, and nothing Kerber can throw at her will match the bullets she faced against Madison Keys in the previous round. Both players are excellent athletes, and both like to work the rallies. It should be a great match, with much depending on who plays with greater aggression.
Halep and Kerber are waiting by the entrance to a sparsely populated Centre Court. Come on ladies and gents, look lively, this is a Wimbledon quarter-final, not lunchtime. Both players look pensive. That doesn’t change as they step out to a polite smattering of applause.
Also gracing Centre Court this afternoon are Serena Williams, the top seed and six-time champion, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the Russian world No23, who will be contesting her first quarter-final at Wimbledon. Over on Court One, meanwhile, Venus Williams’ quest for a fifth title continues with a last-eight showdown against Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan. Ranked 98th, the Moscow-born Shvedova has been the surprise package of the women’s event. More of a clay-courter by trade – her CV includes a couple of French Open quarter-finals – the 25-year-old overcame her natural aversion to grass to see off the big-serving Coco Vandeweghe in the fourth round, which was no mean feat. We’ll be keeping an eye on that one as we go.
Preamble
Good afternoon and welcome. Had you told Simona Halep at the start of the year that she would last longer at Wimbledon than she would at the French Open, the Romanian might not have believed you. True, she was a semi-finalist in SW19 two summers ago. But the fifth-ranked Halep’s best results have tended to come either on clay – she reached the French Open final in 2014 and won the Madrid Open earlier this year – or hard courts, surfaces that lend themselves to her scurrying, counter-punching style.
This, though, is Halep Mark II. Since hiring Darren Cahill as her coach last November – and frankly, who wouldn’t want to work with the man who presided over Lleyton Hewitt’s rise to world No1 before helping Andre Agassi to reclaim top spot in the twilight of his career? – the Romanian has been working hard to develop a more aggressive edge to her game. It’s been anything but plain-sailing, and a tearful first-round exit at the Australian Open in January hardly augured well for the season ahead. But Halep is nothing if not a grafter, and the signs are that the hard miles she has put in on the practice courts are starting to pay off. She reached the fourth round in Paris, losing to a rejuvenated Sam Stosur, and has shrugged off an Achilles injury to find real form going into the last eight at the All England Club.
In Angelique Kerber, she faces an opponent likewise trying to build on past exploits, albeit somewhat more recent ones. Kerber, you’ll recall, was crowned Australian Open champion earlier this year, upsetting Serena Williams in the final to claim far and away the biggest prize of her career to date at the ripe old age of 28. As is so often the case after a player wins a first major, she’s struggled a little since, a couple of semi-finals and victory on the clay courts of Stuttgart prefacing a dismal sequence of first-round losses in Madrid, Rome and Paris.
Like Halep, though, the fourth-seeded German has pedigree on grass, having reached the last four in SW19 four years ago. If you’re looking for a barometer of her current form, consider this: in the opening round in Melbourne, she had to save match point against Misaki Doi of Japan; in the last 16 at Wimbledon, she cruised past the same player in straight sets. In fact, while Halep had to battle through three tough sets against the big-serving Madison Keys to reach the last eight, Kerber has yet to face a seeded player. On the minus side for the German, she has lost all but one of her four previous encounters with Halep.
Play starts: 1pm.
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