The top seed Serena Williams will play Elena Vesnina in the semifinals of the Wimbledon Championships. The season's third Grand Slam event is held on the historic grass courts of the All England Club in London, UK.
Background
Williams has been typically consistent this year in reaching four finals, including the Australian and French Open. However, the American has won just the one title in Rome, something which may haunt her as she bids to retain the only major she has in her possession. Aside from a close three set struggle against Christina McHale in the second round, the top seed has been immaculate and was able to raise her game at just the right time in each set to defeat her quarterfinal opponent Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-4.
On this surface, Williams is at her most effective, frequently serving her way out of difficulty, a weapon that's incredibly useful for her. A six-time former Wimbledon champion, the 34-year-old is looking to equal Steffi Graf’s Open Era record for the most Grand Slam singles titles at 22, as well as equal her Wimbledon haul of seven singles titles.
Having reached the Charleston final, Vesnina moves into only her second semifinal of the year in what has been her breakthrough Grand Slam event. Having never previously reached the quarterfinals of a major, the Russian worked hard in the fourth round to overcome her doubles partner Ekaterina Makarova 9-7 in the deciding set before ending Dominika Cibulkova’s nine match winning streak 6-2, 6-2. Cibulkova had previously won a marathon three setter against third ranked Agnieszka Radwanska.
Her flat groundstrokes have enabled Vesnina to succeed on the grass recently, accounting for Belinda Bencic en route to the quarterfinals at Eastbourne just over a week ago, an event she won back in 2013. Despite her current ranking of 50, the 29-year-old has been ranked as highly as number 21, she has won two WTA titles and boasts two Grand Slam doubles titles to her name.
Head-to-Head
Williams owns the head-to-head 4-0 and has never lost more than seven games. The two haven’t played since Beijing 2013 and have never met on grass.
The world number one’s game will most likely prove too much for the unseeded Vesnina, who will have to serve and return at her absolute best to stand any chance. Though she may well rush Williams with her early ball striking, her own second serve will likely come under fire. Given her amazing 27-4 win-loss record in Grand Slam semifinals, the experience of Williams makes her a huge favourite to win this match.
Prediction: Williams in straight sets.