Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Wimbledon midpoint: Venus Williams edges toward fifth title

LONDON – The midway point of Wimbledon 2008 has arrived with an absence of any serious rain but daily drama. Popular and high-seeded players booked early plane tickets for the sanctuary of home.

For the players today, things settled down as Venus Williams, Andy Murray, Jelena Jankovic and Rafael Nadal all progressed to Monday's fourth round.

Women's champion, Venus Williams faced another qualifier in Maria Jose Martinez. Williams wiped away any lingering doubts in her mind about her title defense and created a Wimbledon record. She slammed down a 127 mph ace, 1 mph faster than her own Wimbledon record. It was one of 11 aces that she produced to power to a 6-1 7-5 victory. Her 25-year-old Spanish opponent, ranked 101 in the world, looked shell-shocked and gasped in disbelief much of the time.

Williams said: "I actually don't try to serve hard, if that makes sense. It comes just big. It's just how I serve. It's just me."

She has yet to drop a set as she edges closer to a fifth Wimbledon title. Next up: 18-year-old Russian Alisa Kleybanova, ranked 42.

Jelena Jankovic , the highest women's seed left after the shock exits of Ivanovic and Sharapova, survived medical attention to her leg three times during her match with Caroline Wozniacki, a 17-year-old Danish player who is a former Wimbledon junior champion. Jankovic won 2-6 6-4 6-2 and has a real shot at the world No. 1 ranking.

"I'm just trying to enjoy my tennis. I don't want to get involved with the rankings or points – who is losing, who is winning," she said later.

Andy Murray, the new bearer of British hopes, recovered from a slow start to produce an assured display against Tommy Haas of Germany. Murray won’t be too concerned that his win of 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-2, included his first loss of a set all week.

"I'm not really thinking about reaching the quarterfinal. "I'm more interested in making it to the final." He'll meet the Richard Gasquet next; the French No. 8 seed was a semifinalist here last year.

As the darkness descended and officials and spectators wondering whether play ought to be curtailed, Rafael Nadal finished off Germany's Nicholas Kiefer, 7-6 6-3 6-2. Nadal now plays the winner of the match between Gasquet and Murray.

As I left the grounds I was pondering the headlines in some of our papers for Sunday morning, relating to our only hope – Murray. Surely the headline writers wouldn't . . . or would they?

There it was on Sunday morning . . . Murray kicks Haas.

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