By the end of semi-finals day tennis didn't intrude for so long. Serena Williams's win over Elena Vesnina was one of those dazed occasions that sucked the air out of Centre Court so much that you could literally hear the champagne corks popping up in the gods of the 15,000-seat stadium.
Silenced by the precipitous fall of the unseeded Russian, interest gave way to a voyeuristic mood and between each brief game murmuring thrummed around the court. Serena was winning 96 per cent of her first serves.
Vesnina said before the match "it is like a dream come true" to reach a Wimbledon semi-final. Within minutes of the first set, those dreams were under the scuffing feet of the younger Williams sister.
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. Indeed. Serena raced to 4-0 in 14 minutes. The world number one then began a mercifully short episode of stamping all over the dreams of the 50th-ranked player.
If 6-2 wasn’t one sided enough for the first set, Williams brought even more vigour to the second set. Cutting her shift from 28 minutes to 20 minutes, she rattled off six games at a rate of a game every three minutes for 6-2, 6-0 in 48 minutes.
Five hours
Both semi-finals came in at two hours in total. The Murray and Federer quarter-finals on Wednesday were always going to be longer, given that they were over five sets, but rarely by a margin of five hours and 11 minutes. Andy Murray’s first set against Jo Wilfried Tsonga (76 minutes) was longer than either of the women’s matches.
The disparity again brought up the issue of equal prize money. The men and women’s singles winners earn €2.34 million each.
“Yeah, I think we deserve equal prize money,” said Serena. “I mean, if you happen to write a short article, you think you don’t deserve equal pay as your beautiful colleague behind you?” Touche.
Vesnina was crushed but not surprised by what was the fastest semi-final since 1999 and before that 1939. Compared to Williams Vesnina’s pedigree was impoverished. Earlier this year the doubles specialist had dropped out of the world top 100 and was forced to qualify for tournaments. Approaching her 30th birthday, hers was an unlikely journey over the past 11 days.
“I felt like I had no chance today,” said Vesnina. It is Serena’s third grand slam final of the year.
“I think it’s great. I mean, I think for anyone else in this whole planet, it would be a wonderful accomplishment,” said Serena.
“For me, it’s about obviously holding the trophy and winning, which would make it a better accomplishment. For me, it’s not enough. But I think that’s what makes me different. That’s what makes me Serena.”
It was Germany's Angelique Kerber who demolished Venus Williams hopes of making one more final. In a weirdly fragile first set of whoever blinks first loses, the 36-year-old did just that.
Williams serve was broken in her first four games and Kerber dropped her service three times as the famous forehand of the older player consistently broke down. Four balls into the net off her forehand in the final game of the set handed it to Kerber 6-4.
Forehand side
Williams began the second still unable to control her shot making, especially the forehand side. There were glimpses of the old grand slam winner but Kerber is a getter and unless Williams of old was on point everything was coming back.
Tired looking, Williams’s serving was wildly off and she won only 50 per cent of her 10 service games. In the end she fell 6-4, 6-4.
An all-Williams final would have been a sweet end. But Kerber, who beat Serena in the Australian Open final, is a better mover and the final likely to be a closer match.
“I know she will go out and try everything,” said Kerber. “I will just try to go out there like in Australia, trying to show her, okay, I’m here to win the match, as well.”
