Serena advances Wimbledon final for 8th time

Vandeweghe was playing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal match. Another is assured of elimination.

There will be three American women in the quarterfinals, as Madison Keys also advanced and the Williams sisters were playing each other on Centre Court.

“They’ve been unbelievable for the sport”. “Their head-to-heads, I don’t know how much that has to do with it. I think it’s more their individual play”.

Hundreds of tickets each day are allocated to corporate sponsors including Aegon, Nike, JP Morgan and IBM, which also lay on hospitality for their guests in marquee suites inside the All England Club.

Maria Sharapova of Russian Federation in action against Coco Vandeweghe of the U.S. during their quarter final match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 07 July 2015.

Sharapova won the title at the All England Club in 2004, and reached the final one more time but lost to Petra Kvitova in 2011.

Wawrinka reached the quarterfinals at the All England Club in 2013 for his best previous Wimbledon result.

Azarenka has slipped to 24th in the rankings and won the last of her 17 WTA titles at the Cincinnati Open almost two years ago – where she beat none other than Serena. “Alongside the majority which are available through the public ballot, the LTA ballot, debenture holders and those for sale on the day to the queue, we allocate less than 10 per cent of Centre and Number 1 Court seats to the official hospitality market”, she said. “It’s a little frustrating because I know I have to play her”.

It was a remarkable conclusion to a day when a whiff of predictability had permeated the hectic schedule in men’s and women’s draws.

Federer has had a relatively straightforward first week, winning his first two matches in straight sets and his third in four.

Vandeweghe dominated both tiebreakers to win 7-6 (1), 7-6 (4) after the players traded breaks once in each set.

But for Federer, the pursuit of No. 8 and breaking the tie with Pete Sampras and 1880s player Willie Renshaw doesn’t seem to be the only thing spurring him on.

Stephen Benson, from Blackpool, added: “Here we go again, empty royal box, it was less than half full for much of Federer game!”

It’s a huge operation, and shows there’s more to Wimbledon than just ensuring there’s enough Pimm’s in stock.

The top-seeded American, who is trying to complete a calendar-year Grand Slam, dropped the opening set on Centre Court on Tuesday.

Williams will next face Maria Sharapova on Thursday in the semifinals.

Williams won the Australian Open and the French Open this year.

“You can’t underestimate anyone’s level”, Sharapova said. But Gasquet, seeded 21st, is something of a surprise after beating French Open champion Stan Wawrinka 11-9 in the fifth set in the quarterfinals.

Andy Murray hits a shot at the practice courts at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon on June 2 …

“I try to put myself only in the present moment, not fight against the thoughts and the pressure and the excitement”, Djokovic said, referring to his past experiences at the grass-court major.

Few had predicted Anderson would be able to mix it with Djokovic, except maybe the Serb himself who said the statuesque 2.03 meter South African was in the form of his life heading into the match.

Simon reached the quarter-finals for the first time with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 defeat of Czech sixth seed and 2010 runner-up Tomas Berdych.

Three consecutive aces at 4-2 in the third set moved her to within a game of victory and although 23rd seed Azarenka hung on and threatened to break back, Williams would not be denied and stayed on course for a 21st grand slam title. And she’s now just three wins away from completing another Serena Slam (her first Serena Slam consisted of the 2002 French Open, 2002 Wimbledon, 2002 United States Open and 2003 Australian Open).