There really isn't a lot to be said on today's ladies quarter finals.
Venus versus A-Rad was as one sided as I expected it to be.
However I expected Schiavone to put up more resistance against Dementieva, but Francesca by her own admission got a little overwhelmed by the whole Centre Court experience, not to mention the magnitude of the occasion.
Safina v Lisicki was a letdown. Dinara played poorly, much like she's been doing all event. And Lisicki, despite the good start was undone by a calf injury. Three pretty boring sets of tennis.
What I will say though is it's good to see Dinara getting through these matches on the back of little more than willpower. By her own admission, she's no grassie, and though I don't think she stands a chance opposite Venus, it's worth noting she's managed to remain competitive on her least effective surface, a feat Marat only achieved in two out of ten attempts:
Q. It took Marat maybe a career to sort of become comfortable and like grass. Can you maybe say you've condensed that learning curve into one tournament?
DINARA SAFINA: Well, he did it by the age of 28, and I do it by the age of 23. So I do it earlier.
Actually, I think, yeah, I can play on grass. Because before it was fighting on grass, but now actually I don't even fight anymore against the grass. I'm enjoying it.
(Source: wimbledon.org)
(Photo: GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images)I've said it before and I'll say it again: Serena is looking better than Venus this year.
All her previous matches were impressive. But she was in especially imperious form today, from the get-go. I've a feeling she knew that Azarenka's not the player to play with your "feel your way through and see how it goes" game face on.
The scoreline suggests a one-sided match. And it was. But not because Azarenka's a poor player, or because she played a poor match. She rarely does. She was just outplayed. And she knew it.
(Photo: GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Image) OK, there was some of this.
(Photo: GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images)"She really showed the unbeatable Serena today, I guess."
A volatile firebrand with an unexpectedly humble side?
No. A volatile firebrand that's smart enough to not let personalities get in the way of telling it like it is. I like her more already.
It's not that there's anything especially deferential there. But she could have so easily done the cursory-credit thing.
Virgina Wade is a big Azarenka fan.
I'm going to try and quote her the best I can, from what I remember today.
"...it [Azarenka's determined attitude] can lose it's charm when she loses control like she did yesterday [when she all but threatened a lines person], but you have to have that level of belief and determination if you think you're good enough to beat the top players and go on to win Slams...".
Or something. You get the idea.
Oh and think again if you think Serena is any closer to burying the Indian Wells hatchet.
Q. Okay. But when the time comes to sit down and look at your marvels, what do you think the first marvel will be?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Uhm, I don't know. I have no idea. I'll just ‑‑ I don't know. I think I'll be a little amazed because, uhm, you know, I never even take the time out to even think about the tournament.
I mean, I use some of my trophies for makeup brushes, so, you know, maybe I'll just take a step back and be like, Hmm. Take all the makeup brushes out and really appreciate every title and every trophy.
Q. What trophy makes the best makeup brush holder?
SERENA WILLIAMS: My Indian Wells '03 (smiling). Or was it '01? Whatever year that was.
(Source: wimbledon.org)
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