Serena heads into quarters without sister
This could be tricky. As Wimbledon was getting over the shock of five-time champion Venus Williams being sent home early by an upsetting defeat by Tsvetana Pironkova, her younger sister Serena gleefully beat Na Li with a score of 7-5, 6-3, securing herself a place in the last four. The possibility of Serena taking home the title seems almost glaring at this point. Yet, Serena is not quite sure.
Each time Serena has claimed the title and had the pleasure of holding the Venus Rosewater Dish, she did so by defeating her sister Venus in the Wimbledon finals. Venus has also come out victorious over her little sister, and the two women have made their grass court Grand Slam finals match-ups against each other somewhat of a habit.
Having to now face Petra Kvitova in the semi-final, Serena is guaranteed a win by all accounts. Following a victory over Kvitova, Williams would be matched up against a newcomer for the final on Saturday, which could prove to be a challenging affair.
"It's not mine to lose [the title], it's mine to win if I can get it," Serena said. "There's three other people that are vying to win it. They have just as good a chance as I do."
Serena: the fave on the grass
Serena, the defending champion came into the tournament as the favourite, and has remained the favourite by far throughout the rounds. Could it be that the three-time champ is just being diplomatic by saying that others have an equal chance at winning the trophy?
Before taking the court to play Li, Serena ran into Venus, who was on her way back after being defeated by Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria. It was most likely an uneasy conversation for the sisters.
When asked to comment on the exchange, Serena said: "That was a private conversation. I don't know if it [Venus' loss] affected my play too much. I just had to keep playing and focusing."
The two sisters reportedly share a house in Wimbledon, and since they are both still in the doubles tournament here at the All England Club, Serena must expect to have to engage in a bit of politesse with her sister. Having received support from Venus on a few occasions, she is familiar with the drill.
"Having Venus around definitely makes it easier sometimes," Serena commented. "If you lose, it's always nice to have a sister that's been through the same experience kind of, can really only understand what you're going through."
Past winner, next champion?
Having collected twelve Grand Slam titles throughout her career, Serena understands the demands of winning a major tournament title. The first rule of thumb is not to get ahead of oneself. There are still two matches that Serena has to face before the possibility of her hands touching the prized Wimbledon trophy, so staying focused on the present match is key. The second rule is that the immediately upcoming match is always the most important one in any tournament, and it’s good for defending champions to remember this, and not just jump into the future, speculating the outcome of the final.
As the last few days of Wimbledon have shown, the past record of a player does not necessarily hold any predictions with certainty. Surely, no one would have bet their pounds on Venus being blasted out of the top four by Pironkova, but it happened nonetheless.
"I feel like last year was last year and this year is this year," Serena said. "For me, I'm really trying to focus on doing well this year. Sometimes if I get too caught up, then it doesn't end well."
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