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AP: Willful Williams: Serena hangs on in semifinals to beat Dementieva
Published 7/2/2009 in Sports
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Serena Williams saved a match point and overcame Elena Dementieva 6-7 (4), 7-5, 8-6 in a riveting contest Thursday to advance to the Wimbledon final and another possible championship match against sister Venus.
Williams, a two-time Wimbledon champion, was pushed to the limit by the fourth-seeded Russian but raised her game when she needed in one of the most compelling women’s matches at the All England Club in years.
Dementieva, who has never won a Grand Slam title, played one of the best matches of her career and nearly eliminated a player who has won 10 majors and combined with Venus to dominate at the All England Club for the past decade.
The 2-hour, 49-minute classic ended when Dementieva sailed a backhand wide. Williams threw her head back, pumped her arms and hopped up and down in celebration.
“Elena played so well, and we gave the crowd a wonderful match,” Williams said. “It was really, really tough.”
In the 10th game of the final set, Williams faced match point on her serve with Dementieva ahead 5-4. Williams chose to attack, coming forward and hitting a backhand volley that skipped off the net cord and into the open court for a winner.
"I thought ace," Williams said. "It's my serve, if I can just stay calm. I was just trying to think positive."
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Associated Press — Serena Williams reacts during her women's singles semifinal against Elena Dementieva on the Centre Court today at Wimbledon.
It was Serena's eighth straight win in a Grand Slam semifinal going back to the 2003 French Open. She is now 14-2 overall in Grand Slam semifinals.
The result sets up the possibility of a second straight and fourth overall women's final here between the Williams siblings. One Williams or the other has won seven of the past nine championships at the All England Club.
Defending champion and five-time winner Venus faced top-ranked Dinara Safina in the day's other semifinal.
"I'm going to come out and watch Venus and cheer her on and hope the best," Serena said. "I obviously want her to win so, Go V."
Venus is bidding to become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1991-93 to win Wimbledon three years in a row and is trying for No. 6 overall. Serena beat Venus in the 2002 and 2003 finals.
There have been seven all-Williams championship matches at majors, with Serena holding a 5-2 lead. Overall, the sisters are tied 10-10.
On the Web:
Wimbledon Championships: www.wimbledon.org
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