Sharapova stunned as Venus shines

THERE is something about Wimbledon which brings out the best in Venus Williams.

Struggling with form and fitness this year, and in danger of an early exit from the All England Club in previous rounds, the American produced easily the best tennis of the championships so far to overwhelm second seed Maria Sharapova in the fourth round yesterday.

The three-time champion served superbly and came out on top in a battle of thunderous ground-strokes to thrash Sharapova 6-1 6-3 in less than an hour and book a quarter-final clash with another Russian, Svetlana Kuznetsova.

“In my whole life I’ve been a big-match player,” Williams reflected. “I always feel very confident.

“The only thing that can happen is if I make some errors, them my opponent can get in the match. Today those errors weren’t there.

“I always believe in my game. I know I have a huge game. I know I have a lot of stuff that a lot of players don’t have.”

Sharapova admitted afterwards: “You really can’t be surprised because I know what she’s capable of. I know she can produce great tennis.

“But she hasn’t been playing the best tennis here, I saw some of the matches she’s played. She was not nearly as good as she was today.

“But I’m not going to let my head hang and take months off.

“I’m very capable of going out on the court and working hard, working to get better.”

Meanwhile Justine Henin came through a bruising encounter with Serena Williams to claim a slot in the semi-finals.

The world number one won the only break point of a high-quality first set before serving out in clinical fashion.

But Williams, whose movement appeared to be hampered by her calf injury, fought back magnificently.

The former champion grabbed the second set and then came back from 5-1 down in the decider but Henin held her nerve to triumph 6-4 3-6 6-3.

“I was a bit nervous at the end,” Henin admitted afterwards. “Mentally it was very difficult so I’m very happy to come through. It’s the kind of win that gives me a lot of confidence for this tournament.”

Williams revealed later she had been suffering from a sprained thumb, which affected her backhand.

“When I slipped in the third set (against Hantuchova), I hurt my thumb,” she said. “I’m not 100%. I was probably at 40 or 50% maximum.

“She (Henin) played a very high-quality game, probably some of her best tennis. If I had been healthy I think I would have won, definitely.”

Henin, who now faces surprise semi-finalist Marion Bartoli, will be favourite to take her first Wimbledon title after seeing off Williams — the 2002 and 2003 champion.