Russian thriller

Elena Dementyeva for the first time in her career went to Wimbledon’s semifinals on Tuesday on Wimbledon, quarter -final matches in a female single -single category took place. In the Russian derby, success was accompanied by the fifth racket of the tournament Elena Dementyeva, who, despite the somewhat obvious decline in the game, managed to break the resistance of Nadezhda Petrova.

The Match of Dementiev - Petrova turned out to be exciting, although not the most cool. In theory, the excellent season Dementiev was supposed to win a slight victory over the rival, who had just resumed her career after a serious injury. Everything went to this until Dementyeva led the second batch with a score of 5: 1. These numbers too often became enchanted and, as a result, fatal. She did not escape serious unrest and Dementiev. At this moment, Elena completely disappeared stability in the game on the back line, the place of which was taken on the advance by treacherous errors on the presentation. Petrova, having caught the suffering of the rival, changed almost nothing in her game, only became a little more innermost in prolonged draws. And the score slowly but correctly crawled to a draw, and then to the tie-break. In the 13th game, in which, as a rule, a lot depends on calm and confidence, Nadezhda was already a favorite. True, then Dementieva managed to calm down and again made a breakthrough - 4: 0. However, an easy victory was not worth waiting for Elena's fans.

In the fifth game of the decisive set, Dementyeva again made several unforgivable mistakes, crowning a double series at Break Punt. 4: 1, 4: 2 - Events began to resemble the ending of the second batch, and, be Petrova more forces, not to pass this time, an unpredictable ending. However, Nadezhda itself was not accurately, tennis players generally hardly forced themselves to interrupt the ball to the opposite side. The ninth game on Dementyeva’s presentation began with her mistake, but then Elena pulled herself together, finally performed several excellent blows and completed the duel in her favor: “It was very difficult for me to cope with emotions at the end of the second set. I realized that I had the first in my career of Wimbledon’s semi-final, and this thought struck me. Set.

The rival of Dementyeva in tomorrow's semi -final will be a four -time Wimbledon champion Vinus Williams, who was not difficult to replay Tamarin Tanasugarn from Thailand. The 31-year-old Taika (she knocked out the first racket of the world Anu Ivanovich from the struggle in the third circle of the world, which made one of the main rackets of the world) was not able to offer an adequate pace from the struggle in the third round, and her reliability on the back line should not have been enough a priori.

Unlike Tanasugarn, another Asian tennis player who made a sensation at the current tournament, Kitianka Ze Zheng, in the quarter -finals a rival that did not have a rich experience. However, the favorite of the couple was still Nicole Vidishov, whose powerful game on the back line can destroy any tactical plan. The Chinese regularly moving to the net and thanks to the paired skill, the Chinese woman has long owned the initiative for a long time, but as soon as Czech was in the rhythm and start holding the length of the blows, the situation changed. And everything would have fallen into place, if not for the youthful instability of Vidishova, who, having won the second batch and having received a clear game advantage, could not cope with the nerves and gave the match itself. In the third batch, 19 -year -old Czech made 19 of her 39 unmuffy mistakes - these are, in fact, five gamies lost on their own initiative. The Chinese woman, on the contrary, was highly concentrated, and her advantage in the party just amounted to five games.

However, it is doubtful that such squandering would allow herself to be a double winner of Wimbledon Serena Williams. On Tuesday, the youngest of the sisters did not leave a stone on a stone from the positions of Polka Agnieshki Radwanskaya and is now quite ready to examine a daring Chinese woman. According to bookmakers, who are unlikely to undertake experts, the most likely composition of the final will be a related meeting of Vinus and Serena. In this case, Americans will repeat the situation of 2002 and 2003. It is curious that it was in these finals that Serena won, while the vinus more successful on herbal lawns beat only other rivals in decisive matches.

Men's quarter finals will take place today. Among their participants are one Russian, Marat Safin, whose appearance in the second week of the tournament no one was waiting for, except, perhaps, coaches and acquaintances of Marat. Perhaps this is precisely the main reason for the success of Safin: he started at the current Wimbledon without unnecessary responsibility and excess pressure, he simply played tennis and, in general, quite simply won four meetings. Of course, there is no sensation in this, Safin is able to show the extra-class tennis. The promised three years are waiting.

In the quarterfinals, Marat will be very difficult. He will play with Feliciano Lopez - the only Spaniard, for whom the game on herbal courts is not punishment, but existing joy. Once he already got to the quarterfinals, it was in 2005, and on the way to his best Wimbledon achievement, by the way, he beat Safin - 6: 4, 6: 4, 6: 4. And Lopez’s weak result in England had only one, in 2006, and even because the rivals in the first round of the Spaniard got the best season in his career powerful Croat by Ivan Lyubichich. The finale of that match - 11: 9 in the fifth set in favor of Lyubichich - perfectly characterizes the militancy of the Spaniard. By the way, on the eve of Lopez played another five -seater duel, along which Marco Baghdatis was seconded to 1: 2 in the parties, but in the end he was still released by the winner.

Another Russian-Spanish confrontation is already behind, and, alas, Mikhail South against Raphael Nadal had no chance at all. The Spaniard, who, not yet accustomed to the herbal manner, played in a row for two years in the final with Roger Federer, now looks like a clear favorite of the tournament. In 2007, Mikhail had real chances of beating the Nadal in the 1/8 finals, and if it were not for the recurrence of injury, the fifth set could have developed differently. Now at the same stage, the Spaniard is mockingly taking three parties in a row and will play in the quarter -finals with British Andy Murray, who, on Monday, just at the very finish of the game day, almost at dusk grabbed the gallows of the best of the Frenchman Richarg Gasuka. Having lost the first two sets, the new favorite of the Wimbledon public managed to save the match with a score of 4: 5 and the submission of Gasuke in the third set, then he took a secret break and defeated the opponent in the next two parties.

Wimbledon-2008

Men

1/8 finals

M. Safin (Ros) - S. Vavrinka (SHVC, 13) - 6: 4, 6: 3, 5: 7, 6: 1

F. Lopez (SPP, 31) - M. Baghdatis (Kip, 10) - 5: 7, 6: 2, 3: 6, 7: 6, 8: 6

R. Shuttler (Ger) - J. Tibsarevich (Ser) - 6: 4, 3: 6, 6: 4, 7: 6

A. Kleman (Fra) - M. Chilich (choir) - 6: 3, 7: 5, 6: 2

E. Murray (VLB, 12) - R. Gaske (Fra, 8) - 5: 7, 3: 6, 7: 6, 6: 2, 6: 4

R. Nadal (SPP, 2) - M. South (Ros, 17) - 6: 3, 6: 3, 6: 1

Women

1/4 finals

V. Williams (USA, 7) - Tanasugarn (TAI) - 6: 4, 6: 3

E. Dementyeva (Ros, 5) - N. Petrova (Ros, 21) - 6: 1, 6: 7, 6: 3

Jie Zheng (Kit) - N. Vaidishova (Czech, 18) - 6: 2, 5: 7, 6: 1

S. Williams (USA, 6) - A. Radvansk (Paul, 14) - 6: 4, 6: 0

07/01/2008 / Alexander Shmornov, the material was published in the newspaper No. 121 dated 02.07.2008.