Family Affair

If there was a railroad running down the side of Wimbledon’s  Centre Court one would have feared for Dinara Safina after she double faulted to lose the first set against the German teenager Sabine Lisicki. So distressed did she look that she might have been tempted to follow Anna Karenina and throw herself onto the tracks.

We were set for another Russian tragedy. 

But, happily, for Safina, Tolstoy wasn’t writing the script and, drawing on all her experience and will power, the World No. 1 who has yet to win a Grand Slam title, clawed her way back into the match against a young opponent who has established herself here as a star of the future. 

In the end Safina won 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1, partially because the hard-hitting little German lost some of her mobility after cramping in her calf muscle and also because Sabine found the whole prospect of a Wimbledon semifinal a bit too much for her. Afterwards, Lisicki put her loss down to being unable to deal with Safina’s physicality.

"I think she just knew how to handle it physically better than me," she said.

That was probably correct but if Lisicki had been able to push Safina just a little harder in the second set, the mental factor would have come into play because Dinara is definitely feeling the pressure of having to justify her No. 1 ranking every time she walks on court.

And nothing is going to get easier. Almost inevitably it is a Williams she will face in the semifinal on Thursday — Venus as it turns out. Does it make a difference? Probably not. One of the sisters seems destined to win the title. It is the same every time they come to play. And although Serena, looking almost humble, said, "I think myself and Venus, we try to be modest," it is very difficult when you are convinced that both of you are the two best players on the planet.

The current ranking may not back that up because they don’t play as much as their rivals but there is not a soul connected to the women’s game who is going to tell you that the best player in the world is someone called other than Venus or Serena. 

Just look at what happened today. Venus destroyed Agnieszka Radwanska, the No. 11 seed from Poland who is considered one of the most promising young players in the game, 6-1, 6-2.  Serena crushed the No. 8 seed from Belarus, Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-3. It was nice of the Williams to talk about the strength of the opposition but, basically, they just walked through it. 

Serena will face Elena Dementieva in her semifinal. The Olympic gold medal winner beat Italy’s somewhat overawed Francesca Schiavone who was playing in her first Wimbledon quarterfinal 6-2, 6-2. And it is just possible that Dementieva will be sufficiently strong of body and mind to give Serena a game. The Russian has beaten her three times in eight meetings, including in last summer’s Olympic quarterfinal in Beijing.

Dementieva was a semifinalist here last year when she lost to Venus. Now, if anything, the 27-year-old is stronger after all the work she has put in at Harold Solomon’s Academy in Fort Lauderdale and she is certainly relishing the chance of playing Serena again.

"She’s a great champion and I just want to see how tough I can be out there against her," Dementieva said. "Just looking for some good fight."

She smiles beatifically as she says it, the large blues eyes dancing in anticipation. Elena used to be the Russian with the chronic serve. Now she is an Olympic champion who has competed hard and well in every Grand Slam for the past twelve years. Yes, she could give Serena a fight and Safina might even make Venus sweat a little — especially if the heatwave continues. But the odds are heavily on Saturday’s women’s final being a family affair — yet again.