Sharapova subdues Vandeweghe to reach Wimbledon semifinals

Wimbledon will hold a minute of silence at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the London bombings.

Serena Williams celebrates winning a point against Victoria Azarenka in their Wimbledon quarterfinal match.

Maria Sharapova is the most immediate obstacle in her path, and the Russian’s CV does include a Wimbledon win over Williams, but that came back in the 2004 final. “It doesn’t get any easier playing against Venus and I was thinking “I’m 33 and she’s 35” – I just wondered how many more times we will get to do this, especially at Wimbledon“. “If you have any other questions I’m cool, but I’m done with that”. “I think she brings out the best in me”.

Williams won through also in three sets, with the 20-time grand slam champion fending off Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 3-6 6-2 6-3, and their Thursday semi-final will be keenly anticipated.

“We just saw today why Serena is No. 1″, said Azarenka, a ex- No. 1 herself and two-time Australian Open champion. So far, she hasn’t played a woman ranked higher than No. 78 in the world, and yet her matches have been a struggle.

Fourth seed Maria Sharapova is first on Centre for her last eight match against Coco Vandeweghe (USA).

With the win, Williams became the first woman to surpass $9 million in prize money for a single season and the first to win $50 million in her career.

“It’s been a while (since Williams has lost to Sharapova) but she’s been playing really well”.

Answering with an ace, Serena quickly swatted away the danger and secured another meeting with Sharapova.

“Definitely no secrets between each other’s games”, Sharapova said. “That would be an incredible moment for me to step out on Centre Court against her again”. A victory in the US Open would then be left to complete a true Grand Slam, which hasn’t been accomplished since Steffi Graf won all four in the same year in 1988.

The 13th-seed beat Madison Keys 7-6, 3-6, 6-3. Coco Vandeweghe, a hard-serving 23-year-old from a family of athletes, including two ex- New York Knicks and a mother who was an Olympian, advanced with a 7-6(1), 7-6(4) victory over Lucie Safarova, who played in the French Open final last month.

The BBC commentator John Inverdale joined the chorus of mad tennis fans, complaining that the Grand Slam’s main arena was “barely a third full” during one of the ladies’ quarter final matches on Tuesday.

Djokovic beat Anderson 6-7 (6), 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4, 7-5 Tuesday in a match that lasted two days. She was one of those on the receiving end of a Williams rally at Roland Garros, watching a set and break lead evaporate before getting what she felt was a “bull s**t” call deep in the second set. Anderson finished with 40 aces. “I need to go out there and prove myself, and that’s it. To talk about it is pointless for me”. “At times, I was really helpless with my return”. It was not her best match, but she came out the victor, which was all that mattered.

“It was a high-quality match”, Azarenka told reporters.

“It’s so annoying because guys grunt”, said Azarenka.

Azarenka pulled off the occasional stunning victor down the flanks, where Williams is always most vulnerable. Vandeweghe has yet to drop a set this tournament and has played under an hour and a half in two her four matches.

Williams, who narrowly escaped defeat by Briton Heather Watson in the third round on Friday, added a few clicks to her serve, beefed up her forehand and began bellowing “c’mons!” after winning big points. Vandeweghe has combined for 12 aces and 42 winners in her last two matches.