Four-times champion Serena Williams has delivered a powerhouse performance to end Petra Kvitova’s title defence and reach her eighth Wimbledon semi-final.
On a mission to regain the crown she relinquished to Kvitova last year, Williams overwhelmed the Czech fourth seed 6-3 7-5 in a high-quality quarter-final under centre court’s closed roof.
Champion at the All England Club in 2002, 2003, 2009 and 2010, and runner-up in 2004 and 2008, Williams will play either world No.2 Victoria Azarenka or unseeded Tamira Paszek on Friday for a place in Saturday’s title match.
After losing almost a year of her career through injury and illness following her 2010 triumph at the All England Club, Williams has been stalled on 13 career majors for two years.
Fellow American John McEnroe suspects the 30-year-old is feverishly trying to make up for lost time and make inroads on Margaret Smith Court’s benchmark 24 grand slam titles to confirm herself among the greatest women’s players of all-time.
McEnroe, commentating for the BBC, claimed Williams was still “four or five majors” away from challenging the likes of Steffi Graf as the finest women’s player ever.
“She seems desperate for another grand slam title,” McEnroe said.
“She wants it so bad after all the health issues.
“So I’ve got a feeling she wants to be around for four or five more years.”
And looking hungry as ever, Williams was untouchable on serve, nailing 13 aces – raising her tournament tally to a whopping 61 – and only faced one break point in the entire 84-minute encounter.
“I’ve said it before – it’s the greatest serve I’ve ever seen in the women’s game,” McEnroe said.
“It’s so dependable.”
Kvitova fought tooth and nail to stay with Williams but netted a backhand return on her only break point of the match, which also doubled as a set point with the American serving at 4-5 in the second set.
Opportunity lost, Kvitova dropped her serve the very next game to hand Williams the chance to seal her place in the last four.
The former world No.1 did just that, sending down another three aces in the final game to qualify for her 23rd grand slam quarter-final.
