Mauresmo bids to put record straight

Amelie Mauresmo aims to cast aside her vastly inferior record against world number one Lindsay Davenport in the Wimbledon semi-finals tomorrow knowing full well how tough a task it will be.

The French third seed trails 8-3 in past meetings against the 29-year-old American, who secured her place in the final four by beating Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 6-3 on Court One.

Mauresmo was impressive in seeing off 2004 French Open winner Anastasia Myskina in straight sets yesterday but is now steeling herself for another difficult opponent.

“I watched a little bit of Lindsay’s match against Kim [Clijsters, in the fourth round] and she looked pretty impressive from the baseline.

“It’s going to be a tough one. As the tournament goes on, it’s tougher and tougher to win. But it’s a great challenge and we will see how it goes.”

The other semi-final pits reigning champion Maria Sharapova against 14th seed Venus Williams, who saw off Mary Pierce 6-0 7-6.

The 18-year-old Russian – who overcame compatriot Nadia Petrova in two sets 7-6 6-3 – can expect to be tested to her physical limits by Williams, who is keeping the family flag flying after sister Serena lost in the third round to Jill Craybas.

“I think the main thing is she’s a good athlete, she gets a lot of balls back and she’s very tough,” Sharapova said. “So it’s just mentally you have got to be ready for an extra ball.”

The 18-year-old had found herself up against it early in the first set but fought back to squeeze through a tight tie-break then grab the crucial second set advantage.

Sharapova, who is yet to drop a set in this year’s tournament, said: “Mentally I am still really, really tough.

“I have learnt from situations in the past year so when I am down or in a close match, I feel like I am still in it.

“When I play a lot of girls when it is 4-4 on serve I feel I am mentally tougher out there, and I can mentally play two more games to finish off the set.”