She's since won each of the other major tournaments at least once, for a total of five titles, and her 6-4, 6-4 victory over French qualifier Severine Bremond put Henin-Hardenne closer to completing a career Grand Slam. Henin-Hardenne has been to the championship match here, losing to Venus Williams in 2001. "I don't think I have anything to prove to myself, first of all, or to anybody," said Mauresmo, who went to the net behind nearly half her serves, winning the point 72 percent of the time. The Frenchwoman never has reached the final at the All England Club. Mauresmo reached her fourth Wimbledon semifinal by eliminating 2004 French Open champion Anastasia Myskina 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. She'll need to play at least as well against Mauresmo, who won both their previous encounters and is playing serve-and-volley tennis more than the other semifinalists. "My personal opinion: I think the umpire should calm her down a little bit."Īsked what her response would be if asked to tone it down, Sharapova said simply: "I won't change a thing." "It's a little bit too much," Dementieva said. She wasn't quite so complimentary when it came to Sharapova's loud shrieking, which grows louder as matches get tighter. "It's just amazing how focused she can be, and that she can stay and fight from the first point to the end." Open in 2004 and 4-0 in major quarterfinals before Tuesday. "What's so special about her is that she's a fighter," said Dementieva, runner-up at the French Open and U.S. She did just fine, thank you, with a 14-8 edge in winners, and even hitting a shot left-handed against Dementieva. "I was just looking forward to the next match to see how I could recoup, recover." "I felt like that match wasn't my best day at the office," Sharapova said.
Still, Sharapova's serve and forehand were in much better shape than in the fourth round, when the Russian needed three sets to get past 16th-seeded Flavia Pennetta. Sharapova quickly recovered from her lapse, helped when Dementieva missed returns on break points that would have evened the second set at 4-all. "It was quickly apparent that the individual posed no threat to the players or the public," Wimbledon spokesman Johnny Perkins said, "and the incident was dealt with summarily and swiftly." In 2002, a man jumped out of the stands when there was a rain delay during the men's final. In 1996, a woman dashed across the most hallowed lawn in tennis before the men's final. Police detained, then released, the latest Centre Court streaker. "If the crowd likes it, that's OK with me." "I was afraid a little bit because, in the beginning, I didn't understand what happened," she said. I didn't really look at the guy, thank God."ĭementieva was startled at first, then snickered. "Even more bizarre that it took 10 seconds for security to come out. He eventually was corralled by two security guards brandishing a red blanket. The man did a little jig, followed by a cartwheel, all about 30 feet from where Sharapova turned her back to the display.
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