Capriati sets up Serena rematch

Wimbledon8217;s teenage upstarts were upstaged by the stolid establishment of women8217;s tennis on Tuesday as the old guard stamped their...

Wimbledon8217;s teenage upstarts were upstaged by the stolid establishment of women8217;s tennis on Tuesday as the old guard stamped their mark on the championships. Holder and top seed Serena Williams and fellow former world No.1 Lindsay Davenport both swatted teenagers aside while Jennifer Capriati stomped on young Russian Nadia Petrova.

But 17-year-old Siberian sensation Maria Sharapova bucked the trend, beating Japanese 11th seed Ai Sugiyama 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 to reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time.

8220;This moment 8230; I am speechless, really,8221; the 13th seed said. 8220;I always wanted to play on Centre Court but never thought about reaching the semi-finals.8221;

She will face 1999 champion and fifth seed Davenport in the last four after the 28-year-old American thrashed Croatian teenager Karolina Sprem 6-2, 6-2.

Rain delays earlier in the tournament meant the top half of the draw were a round behind, playing to reach the quarters, and Serena meted out the most one-sided scoreline of the day.

The twice champion flattened 16-year-old French girl Tatiana Golovin 6-2, 6-1 to reach the last eight.

nbsp;	Paes-Martina move up

		nbsp;	8226; Leander Paes and Martina Navratilova advanced to the third round of mixed doubles beating Sebastien Prieto of Argentina and Emmannelle Gagliardi of Switzerland 6-1, 6-3. On Sunday, Paes and his Czech partner David Rikl had bowed out of the men8217;s doubles losing in the second round.	nbsp;

Serena pummelled the fastest serve ever by a woman at Wimbledon 8212; a 126 miles per hour 202.8 kph scorcher 8212; and gave Golovin the runaround from the start. But still she felt she could have done better.

Story continues below this ad

Golovin claimed she had been neither overawed nor overpowered and that next time she would beat Serena, although how much of that can be put down to 16-year-old bravado is debatable. 8220;I thought I was going to be a little bit more nervous than I was, but I felt really good out there,8221; she said. 8220;I played well. Playing Serena 8230; of course, beating her for the first time, would be really amazing. But I8217;ll do it next time. I8217;m getting used to the big courts.8221;

However, it will take more than a familiarity with the world8217;s showcourts to enable Golovin to beat Serena. Someone with a much better chance of wrestling Serena8217;s crown from her is Jennifer Capriati, the fellow American who beat her in the quarter-finals of the French Open last month and who plays her in the quarters here next.

Capriati swatted aside Russia8217;s 10th seed Nadia Petrova 6-4, 6-4 in the fourth round.

8220;First, I served well and returned well enough, just solid,8221; she said. 8220;I just played solid. You know, I just tried to keep the balls long, deep. And then also I did mix it up.

Story continues below this ad

Tim Henman turned the weight of British hope and expectancy to his advantage as he outfought an angry Mark Philippoussis 6-2, 7-5, 6-7, 7-6 on Monday to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the eighth time.

The British No 1 produced a inspired performance to blunt the power of the big-serving Australian in just over three hours.

Henman barely put a foot wrong in the opening set as he secured a double break before sealing it with half volley winner.

Reuters