Lindsay Davenport |
After considering retirement just one year ago, the world number one Davenport defeated U.S. Open champion and fifth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, 7-6, 6-3 Tuesday. The 29-year-old American faces third-seeded Amelie Mauresmo in the final four, after the Frenchwoman dominated play at the net in a 6-3, 6-4 win over number nine Anastasia Myskina of Russia.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams earned her semifinal berth by eliminating number 12 Mary Pierce. After shutting out the Frenchwoman in the first set, Williams had to work hard in a second set tiebreaker before advancing, 6-0, 7-6. The 14th-seeded Williams next faces defending champion and second-seeded Maria Sharapova in the semifinals. Sharapova defeated eighth-seeded fellow Russian Nadia Petrova, 7-6, 6-3.
Wednesday is men's quarterfinal day at Wimbledon. Defending champion and top seed Roger Federer of Switzerland faces number 21 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, and third-seeded Australian Lleyton Hewitt takes on number 26 Feliciano Lopez of Spain.
Second-seeded American Andy Roddick will have to get past number nine Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean to make it to the semifinals, while 12th-seeded Thomas Johansson of Sweden will be challenged by number 18 David Nalbandian of Argentina.
Some information for this story provided by AP.