Half-Russian Semi-Final
The second week’s beginning at the Wimbledon tennis tournament in London couldn’t be called particularly lucky for Russia. Of six Russians, only two – Nadia Petrova and Elena Dementieva – have advanced to the fourth round in the ladies’ section but only to face each other for a place in the semi-final. Mikhail Youzhny yielded to Rafael Nadal in the men’s section.
The future had looked much brighter on Saturday. But Anna Chakvetadze first yielded to Nicole Vaidisova despite the victory in the first set and, overwhelmed by unforced errors, Svetlana Kuznetsova suffered a shocking defeat by Poland's Agnieszka Radwanskastova.
Unlike Kuznetsova and Chakvetadze, the defeat of Alisa Kleybanova wasn’t surprising. Although not at her best, defending champion Venus Williams proved too powerful for the Russian and her dominance in the match was evident.
Another Russian, Alla Kudryavtseva, who had stolen the show by crashing out Maria Sharapova in the second round at Wimbledon, yielded to compatriot Nadia Petrova. Petrova plays Elena Dementieva in the quarter-final, and the chance is solid that the winner will have to fight Venus Williams. Venus has had no problems in the tournament so far and, with Yelena Jankovic out of Wimbledon, the most probable scenario is that the Williams sisters will play each other for the title.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of July 01, 2008
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