Day 10 Highlights Today at Wimbledon

There is an overwhelming force that accompanies the Williams sisters. I

should know. This must be so difficult for

Lindsay Davenport. First, there is the power. Brutal serving, vicious

ground strokes. You hit it hard, they hated backorder. Next, there is

the speed. They are athletes. Not quite as fast as years gone by, but

if you think they are past it, get real. That is the point. To them,

experience is no enemy. It is their best friend. They have been there,

done it and when it all. They are beatable, everybody is, but trust

me, it is more than a game when you are up against Venus or Serena.

Standing in the way of them, a first singles semifinal for Elena Vesnina

and a player who is finding her place at the top table at it more

comfortable, Angellica Bell, who beat Serena in the final at

Melbourne. Welcome to our platform, looking down on Centre Court and No

one Court. Great words. You do yourself a disservice, because Wendy

won in 1999, you beat one of the greatest players in the final,

Steffi Graf. You get a little lucky now and then. It was a different

era. Once Venus and Serena came, they changed the way grass court

tennis was played on the women's side. Martina Navratilova came

forward, Venus and Serena have dominated with their power, it was

so tough to defend against. Everybody else has to step up to

keep pace with them. They do, they have changed the face of women's

tennis. They have so much power through the court, and the most

beautiful service motions that get in so many free points, they can

take driver volleys out of the air, and their movement on the court. All

of us were shocked by the boxer type Speaker pages to have, their

overflowing self-confidence. But they have mellowed a bit, they have

mature on the tour, they have been easier around the other players than

when they first burst out. The question everybody was asking, did

the a first... A first semifinal for Venus, the first since being

diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder. Could it be her first

final for ages? As far as Angelique Kerber was concerned, could she be

the first German in the final since Steffi Graf 20 years ago?

Venus Williams, the kid from Compton with no family history in tennis.

Venus Williams, the kid from Compton who became the Queen of Wimbledon.

This her 19th Wimbledon, a champion five times, but not since 2008.

Venus Williams is the champion. For the fifth time at Wimbledon. She

reigns supreme. At 36, the matriarch of matchplay. In her way, the up and

coming star, Angelique Kerber, winner of the Australian Open, she

has been in sparkling form this year. The fourth seed is the only

player not to drop a set so far at the Championships this year. It is

always good to win matches into sets. I know how to play on grass,

to win against good players. I am looking forward to the next

challenge. I still feel 26. You have this infinity that feels like you

could go forever. Could Venus rising curb her enthusiasm?

The Sun was shining as they walked out onto Centre Court, the stage was

set. Venus looking cool and calm, she has been here many times before,

her mother knows what it is like to sit and support both of her

daughters. It was a nervous start for both players, no holds of set's

holds of serve in the first four games.

We are going to join it with Venus Williams about to serve.

A fine serve. Venus' favourite serve on the outside. Kerber should move

over a bit to her right. Venus like that with a bit of spin to swing

away from the two hander. Neither player happy with the way

they have started. Not yet. Not quite found the nice groove.

A good shot from Kerber. Williams making her way in. For so long

people thought of Kerber as a defensive, reactive counterpuncher.

She really becomes offensive on the stretch.

What a shot, five breaks of serve in a row.

Kerber serve for the set, Venus is nothing if not a fighter, and for

every shot at Kerber made, she bashed it back. This was the longest

rally of the first set, but Kerber took it 6-4. Let's join it at the

start of the second. Great retrieving from Kerber. But to

no avail. You could hear her say no when she

hit the forehand. She did not need to see where it landed. Just not

trusting the forehand today. Kerber is keeping her on the move.

For the fifth break of the Williams serve. She had a 30-0 lead this

game. There is no control.

A good break by Kerber, and important. After that, both players

started to settle, with some great rallies. The wingspan of Venus

counteracted by the fast feet of Kerber, she kept Venus guessing.

Let's rejoin commentary with Venus serving.

You can see that Venus is trying different things, trying to move

forward, into the net 15 times today. Well played. That has a

lovely flowing shot. Just can't string enough of these points

together. There we go again. Did you see the

improvisational skills from Kerber? Completely stopped. Changed her

swing path. It is in. A shake of the head,

misjudgement. Another break point. It is corrected. Kerber is going to

challenge. Interestingly, she believes this is out. She is wrong.

Miss Kerber has two challenges remaining. Will that be an important

reprieve? Better volleying. So necessary at

this time. Just feel like Venus needs to win this game to hang in.

Before the school board gets away from her.

It did look a tired shot. If you see your opponent on the full stretch,

expect a short shot. Very slow first step.

She just can't put Kerber away. Astonishing work from the German.

Another forehand into the net. Kerber will extract unforced errors

from her opponent. It is too good. So smart to come

forward, Venus did not want another 14 shot rally like the previous one.

The unforced errors starting to mount up, 21 for Venus. Seventh

Kerber. Well done. The crowd latching onto

anything they can from Williams, they want this to be a contest.

A champion's mentality, really digging deep.

She holds, but there is hardly any joy in it. She is looking very weary

as she trudges to her chair. She may have been looking query, but

that was an important hold. She is just one break down. Angelique

Kerber now serving for a place in her first Wimbledon final.

It was on the line. She has three challenges.

Steady as she goes. Two match points.

It is amazing. To beat Venus, it is always a really tough match. She is

a champion, she has won so many times, that is why I am happy about

my game and my first final here. A wonderful shot to finish with. I

tried to go for every shot, moving well. The last point was amazing.

Totally, I wanted to win. What are you going to do? You do the best you

can. I ran into a better player. Next time. You are doing things at

an age when many at your contemporaries have hung it up. When

you are an athlete, you are not thinking about age, you are thinking

about what you can accomplish. Perhaps people will think of it more

in that way. I am in a good place. She is rewriting the record books.

With that answer, next time, she will be back again. Let's talk about

Angelique Kerber. Her retrieving ability, she gets everything back.

She does. She is one of the best athletes playing the game. Not as

powerful as Serena, but she is so explosive, she has great

anticipation. She backs up and she reads the play. She then can do

stuff with her hands to make the balls do incredible things, angles,

up the line. We look at her as not a grass court player, because of her

serve, because it can be vulnerable, but every other part of her game is

suited to grass, she stays low, it is difficult to play against. Talk

us through what Kerber is doing and how she is managing to put Venus

under pressure. She gets the ball back into play

time and time again, she extends the rallies, she makes Venus have to

play an extra shot. She went a bit down the middle, she did not go into

the corners as much as I expected. She did not go into Venus' forehand

side as much as she could have, but then she drew out the forced errors

on that side. I think she is one of the fittest athletes out there, she

has worked so incredibly hard on that side of her game. She has this

ability to track down balls, the take-off speed, the footwork skills,

she gets behind the ball and click the rest. The last point summed up

what she is all about. She can come up with the running passing shots,

she is so dangerous, it is wonderful to see somebody who has worked hard

and you see it come to fruition. She had a plan with her serve,

astounded, coming into Venus' forehand. That was the question,

would she be willing to go to the serve to the forehand? She is more

comfortable serving to the backhand. That is Venus' best shot. She came

out of her comfort zone and hit more to the forehand. She came in knowing

that she had to not hit her best serve every single time, she had to

mix it up and have the confidence to do that. That is the weaker side of

Venus, it broke down a bit today. Kerber took advantage of that. And

-- we think of left-handers being great servers out wide, but when

they serve into the forehand side, the ball is swinging in, you have to

cut across the line of the ball, but feels comfortable, sometimes people

can dictate to the strings. Quite often there were miscues from Venus,

she was not comfortable. They said how tired she looked, she is playing

not having recovered from this awful disease, but managing it. That is

what we will never know, did she come in fatigued? She is 36, she had

played five singles matches coming in, last year she never knows, each

day is a new day, she has the manage her energy and schedule. What she is

doing is remarkable. She did not seem to have the same and other of

energy that we have seen coming into this match today. Full credit to

Angelique Kerber. Through the second set could have gone either way, and

then we would have been into a decider. To serve out nervously, how

brilliant what this. It showed mental strength. So much pressure,

to reach her first Wimbledon final. She had been broken many times

during the match, especially in the first set, but she remained

extremely calm. She said she was nervous at the start of the match

but then she started to flow. She trusted herself. There is more in

confidence from having won her first Grand Slam in Australia. This was a

terrific match point, to finish the rally, to win the match to get

through to the final. She has to be on cloud nine. She talked about her

disappointment at the French, her first major as a grand slam

champion, she lost in the first round, her opponent played well, but

she was so disappointed, she learned from that, and she tried to take the

pressure off PR. One reason why she is so confident, there is no way her

camp is not telling her, you should believe in yourself, you have done

this, you spend hours training, your game will hold up. Even if your mind

starts to get nervous. That is what happens, you can see it, you know

she puts in so many hours to be the best player she can be. An

incredible job, she will be back on Saturday afternoon in the final, but

who would she meet? With a look at the younger Williams sister against

the unknown quantity of the semifinalist Elena Vesnina.

Elena Vesnina has Neville travelled so far alone. Part of a duo who has

found success as a solo artist. The images she will remember for the

rest of her life. Her biggest challenge lay ahead, how do you

solve a problem like Serena? She is getting better and better. There are

lessons in recent history, women who took on the phenomenon and one. At

the fridge open, youthful energy. Before that in Australia, Angelique

Kerber. Roberta Vinci stopped her making the final at the US Open. For

those who are confident, courageous, there is a chance. Her energy can

become unmanageable. The passion and intensity I have is what makes me

Serena. I can't change, I would not want to be different. Wimbledon is

her domain, the six time champion who gains strength as the end grows

nearer. Serena Williams may have offered more clues to those who

challenge her, and she remains the most formidable puzzle.

She had the headphones off backstage but took them off to hear the

applause of the crowd. Aliona does mean, her first singles match on

Centre Court. -- Elena Vesnina. The crowd very appreciative.

They played four times before, Serena had one each meeting, Vesnina

did not have time to let her nerves settle. As we join it, Serena

Williams is already leading. How much does Serena want to play

Venus in the final? That is a great question. Or not want to? Most

importantly she is focused on getting to the final.

A huge punch from Serena right at the end. Great defence from Serena.

You don't see her need to do that too often. At least Vesnina is

finding her legs, starting to move out there. She was frozen for the

first few games. I only asked that question because,

if Venus was to win the next match, and Serena wins this, how much would

she say, I would have given anything for that opportunity? For Serena, it

is probably easier for her to focus if it was not against her sister,

but for her sister's say, she busy ones Venus to get to the final. I

don't know how you played your brother. We played three times. I

just felt like, take me to the top of a bridge if I lost. I thought you

were going to say how hard it was emotionally.

Venus handles it unbelievably well. She seems to be more worried about

Serena than Serena is. You don't get the feeling it is reciprocal. She

gets the job Journal and then she worries about Venus. I thought you

were going to say, beating your brother 6-0, 5-0, I must let him

have a game. There we go. It is three aces as well. In this game,

Vesnina has not played poorly. Serena is sharp. This is an example

of another one of these great sets she has played this tournament.

There will be a huge cheer if she wins this point.

Would that settled the Russian's nerves? The next games went with

serve and we are going to join it at 5-2-macro, Serena serving to take

the first set. Vesnina is hitting some high-quality

shots but Serena, I think her movement was hampered at the end of

last year and even in Australia this year, she did not look 100%. She has

moved better this tournament, this year's Wimbledon, than she was six

or eight months ago because of her knee.

Shelling peas for Serena Williams. 6-2, 28 minutes.

Serena in sensational form and she continued where she left off in the

second set, breaking in the first game, so here is Vesnina serving 2-0

down. It is getting hot, the sun and the

heat, but it is the emotion. It is the racket, it is the ball and

anything else. And error from the Williams racket.

In two hours' time, we could say that was the turning point of the

match. 20 years from now. We will never forget that forehand that went

long. It's changed my life. The school board has one other

interesting statistic. Just 38 minutes played. All Serena.

Hawk-Eye has been awoken from its slumber. Fingers crossed here for

Vesnina. No, well wide. That was a second double fault from her. And

the end gets ever nearer. And there was still no respite as

Serena serve to love again. Here is the Russian serving 4-0 down.

This can't be a semifinal. It has taken her 43 minutes to decide to

throw a drop shot in and that happens. It is a shame, because it

is the second Thursday of a grand slam event.

What was your head to head wins against Serena? Not great. So much

has been written about her before she actually went on the tour but

did she play her first ever match at Wimbledon in 1998? At that time,

were people saying, you had better watch out yet, this could be one of

the great players? Yes. I saw her when she was eight. The same thing.

John, you were right. The first round, 1998.

Oh, my goodness. She has lost just three points in total on her serve

in this match. You could not have an easier time on your service games

and what she has had in this semifinal. If you can't put pressure

on Serena at all on her service game, she will be so loose and

relaxed in her return games and that is what we have seen. That is an

11th ace and so after just 48 minutes, barely one half of

football, Serena Williams, three match points.

As simple and as easy and as straightforward as you could

possibly imagine. Just an exhibition performance from Serena Williams.

Ruthless, relentless and into yet another Wimbledon final.

I am very happy. I was really focused today because I know we have

had a lot of tough matches before, especially on this surface. I knew

she could really bring it to me. Are you surprised you one as easy as you

did? It is never easy out there. Every point you have got to fight

for. It is never easy. Through to your ninth final at Wimbledon. How

significant is that to you? It is weird. I can't believe I am in the

finals again. I am determined to get at least one more year.

I felt like Serena just blew me from the court. I am a little bit

disappointed and I wanted to play better in my first Grand Slam

semifinal against Serena but you have got to admit she was better,

stronger, faster and I could not do anything today. It is just something

I can take this experience with me for the future and I am just wishing

best of luck to Serena in the final and that is what it is.

Vesnina incredibly gracious but she was against an unstoppable force.

Serena only lost three points on her serve in the whole match. Here is

your quiz question. That was the fastest semifinal since? Someone

told me earlier. You have got to know this, Lindsay. 99, I think.

Who? In my match. Yes, you. But it was just majestic from Serena. She

has really been that perfect, certainly not this year. It really

was perfect. Everyone has been wondering when the Demons might

suddenly reappear but there is no sign of them. She had one difficult

match earlier in the Championships but now she has got the flow, she is

firing on all cylinders, the movement around the court, she is

like an express train. When you are against someone like that, Vesnina

had a lot of nerves in her first Grand Slam semifinal, but there was

not much she could do to try and stop the rot. Try to get involved in

her head to create some sort of doubt out there. She needed to

extend those rallies are little bit just to keep pressure on that

scoreline. She is such a good front runner, if she gets going, there is

no stopping her. As this demonstrates, it is a beautiful,

simple motion, but when she throws the ball. It is the most beautiful

service motion, I am sure Lindsay would agree, but it is such a close

cluster of balls and that is very difficult for the opponent. If she

can save so many different choices of serve off roughly the same ball

toss, that is a nightmare, because it is coming through the courts so

fast. You had the figures. 123 mph? She has done it a few times. You

have so little time to react. We wanted to compare it to Novak

Djokovic's serve. His fastest of the tournament. She has that ability to

take the play out of her opponent's hands. When a Serena is feeling

called double and confident on that shot, it has just been flowing

effect in this tournament. In Australia, in the final, she was

forcing it a little bit, last year's US Open, the same thing. But it is

flowing perfectly. She has the ability to go 125, she also has the

ability to go slower, but she hates her target. Their opponents don't

know which one to cover and it gives you so much confidence. She was in a

very good mood afterwards. I had a long chat with her and she talked

about her serve. She should be in a good move right now. But she also

posted this. I mentioned that the Duchess of Cambridge was in the

Royal box. Afterwards, Serena said, can we have a selfie and do this

video with me? If you look carefully, you can see the Countess

of Wessex coming in as well. It is just great. At net, you saw her have

a quick chat with Vesnina, that is because they knew they would do to

play doubles. The Williams sisters, it went with recess, but the

Williams sisters through to the semifinals of the doubles. This is

all about getting ready for the Rio Olympics. They have not played

doubles in the last few years in the majors and this year they have made

more of a commitment to try and win the gold medal at the Olympics. Ron

while Venus is saying, so be blogging she might retire after the

Olympics. She said 20/20 the other day. It is crazy. But she pulls it

out there, don't ask me about retirement. We will talk more in a

moment about that, Serena Williams against Angelique Kerber. But lots

more doubles going on today. Coming to Wimbledon is like dropping

in on an old friend for Martina Hingis. She and Sania Mirza took the

doubles title last time and would top seeds this year. Timea Babos and

Yaroslava Shvedova dealer owned them on the day the second seeds also

went out. Maria Hingis was staying for another one though. Three and a

half hours later, she reappeared later alongside Leander Paes, facing

Britain's Heather Watson and her partner Henry continent, who had

been progressing without playing. Despite Watson and Henry continent's

efforts, they lost the first set. But this was not done. They seized

the second and got the break they needed in the third, knocking the

defending champions out and earning a place in the quarterfinals. Here

is a far happier ever than the one that left her last week. In Grand

Slam wheelchair tennis doubles, for the first time, she would try her

luck on her own. She sort of her fellow Brit in the previous round.

Gordon Reid says playing singles on these courts is something he has

always creamed. No need to wake up just yet. Inference of the Duchess

of Cambridge, he crafted his way past the Frenchman. A tiger could

have been to have negotiated perfectly. An occasion he has waited

all his career for could hardly have gone much better.

A historic Wimbledon for having wheelchair singles for the first

time. Everyone is still buzzing about yesterday's match as Centre

Court saw two of the greatest quarterfinal matches ever. One

featuring Roger Federer, the other featuring Andy Murray.

It is men's quarterfinal stage and it is an absolutely cracking

line-up. He is not going to leave Wimbledon

this year without a fight. Absolutely stunning!

The best shot of the day. A phenomenal comeback. He is truly one

of the greatest players ever of the game.

The world number two, Andy Murray. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. A match to

savour. He has got the ball on a string.

He has not lost a set at these championships yet.

That is why Murray does the hours. He is not out of this match yet. He

is going the distance. There was triumph on Centre Court for Andy

Murray. Tsonga and Cilic played their car in

those encounters. Angelique Kerber knows she has done the work to

deserve these moments, did you see him shout at his clan, there is no

way I am losing this match. You just know with Andy, he is such an

unbelievable fighter, a warrior out there, he is in his domain, Centre

Court, where he has won this championship. I thought Tsonga did

extremely well to turn it into a five setter. You felt mentally he

had been beaten and he was going away from the match and yet he

started to really fire on the forehand, he started to get the flow

going with his serve, and he did mess the rhythm with his slice

backhand. And the backhand side, which is normally a weaker side for

him, he started coming up with phenomenal passing shot. But

ultimately, Andy does mess with a lot of players' heads and it is very

difficult to unravel him. And where Murray shows all his determination,

he shouts, he screams at his camp. I think a lot of that is geared for

the opponent. Look at that, there is no way I am losing this match. Roger

Federer, in contrast, you don't see it, but as an opponent you must feel

it. He just has that aura. You could tell he was getting intense because

he was yelling, come on! He was getting a little bit more vocal

yesterday. But you never get the sense of any anxiety or any panic

ever from Roger. That, I think, it helped him through yesterday. He

saved three match points. 3-3, 0-40. He just believes. And he finishes up

with two aces and that is when you realise. He does not look like it

takes that much out of him but I am just so interested in the effect he

had on Cilic. Cilic is going to be thinking today, I should have won

that match here, here, here and here. He was going in earlier in the

first two sets but when he had a chance to take a stranglehold, those

returns were not going in. That is because he is playing Roger Federer,

Centre Court at Wimbledon. That is what being that big of a legend and

that much of a champion does to opponents sometimes. This is the

order of play for tomorrow and a cracking line-up it is. It will all

be on the BBC. Milos Raonic, from Canada, with John McEnroe in his

coaching camp, up against Roger Federer. And Tomas Berdych, who has

been a final here before, against Andy Murray. Just extraordinary. On

Saturday we will have the women's final. How does Angelique Kerber go

about beating Serena Williams again? Will it be effective on grass. In

Australia she brought a very high level out onto the court but she

played with aggression, she ran down balls and she managed to extend the

rallies. She started to get into the forehand side of Serena Williams who

started to break down emotionally, started to doubt herself, and she

stepped with her emotionally. It is very difficult to do that but if you

are doing it, it starts to change the momentum and shifts the rhythm

of the match. I don't think it is going to be as easy for her to do it

on a grass court because of that serve of Serena Williams. She comes

up with so many free points. But if anyone can extend the rallies and

defend, Angelique Kerber has Beth Mead put herself in a position to do

that. This was our shot of the day, to do that under pressure to finish

that rally. What do you think about the final? Would you make Serena a

heavy favourite? Serena is her heavy favourite just based on the surface,

being six times champion and the quality she has shown this week.

Kerber has to get a high percentage returns back and this is the most

difficult surface to do that on. She also asked to hold her serve early

on. But a bit more pressure on Serena if she can go from there. If

she gets into a rally, she has a chance. Those first shots in this

match are going to be huge. And if she does start to return very well,

which she has been doing during the course of the Championships, that

can produce misses of first serve, you can look up second service, all

pieces of a jigsaw that part romantic during the match. And

Serena can be susceptible to stress. You have seen her, her breathing

gets very quick and you can see it start to happen. One thing she is

doing better at this stage of her career is learning from losses,

learning from previous mistakes. That overwhelmed her last year at

the open. I don't thing she was 100 set healthy in Australia. She is

moving better here. The French, she was struggling off court. So why

think she is going to do better here. They are about to make the

announcement that everybody needs to leave the ground. We have got to go

because otherwise they will lock all the gates and we will be here for

ever. On Saturday, Serena could finally equal Steffi Graf's record

of 22 Grand Slam victories. With her and Venus in the semifinals and

Roger Federer still going as well, this has been a Wimbledon way

vintage is back in vogue. We will be back tomorrow. Join Sue on BBC Two.