Women's Semi-Finals, Part 1

:00:50. > :01:00.There is an overwhelming force which accompanies the Williams sisters. I

:01:01. > :01:04.should know. TRACY AUSTIN: This must be so

:01:05. > :01:09.difficult for Lindsay Davenport. First, there is the power. Brutal

:01:10. > :01:15.serving, vicious groundstrokes. You hit it hard - they hit it back

:01:16. > :01:20.harder. Next, there is the speed. They are athletes, not quite as fast

:01:21. > :01:27.as years gone by. But if you think they are past it, get real! And

:01:28. > :01:34.that's the point - to them, experience is no enemy. It's their

:01:35. > :01:40.best friend. They have been there, done it and won it all. You know it

:01:41. > :01:45.- and they know you know it. You might think you've got the best of

:01:46. > :01:51.them. Maybe. Maybe not. Sure, they are beatable - everyone is. But

:01:52. > :01:58.trust me, it's more than a game when you're up against Venus or Serena.

:01:59. > :02:03.They are an amazing family and they have set new standards for everyone

:02:04. > :02:06.to follow. Here are the scenes at 10.30 this morning when the gates

:02:07. > :02:12.opened. What an orderly queue heading down to Centre Court! It is

:02:13. > :02:16.ladies semifinals day, and for the first time since 2009, we have the

:02:17. > :02:25.two Williams sisters in the last four. Both of them still have a bit

:02:26. > :02:29.of work to do, and will have to be at their best if we are to see a

:02:30. > :02:34.repeat of 2016. Playing Venus is the German fourth seed Angelique Kerber,

:02:35. > :02:39.which has already won the Australian Open this year and has not dropped a

:02:40. > :02:44.set in this year's tournament. Russia's Elena Vesnina is the other

:02:45. > :02:51.semifinalist. She produced some of the performances of her career to

:02:52. > :02:57.reach the last four. Venus has five Wimbledon singles titles to her

:02:58. > :03:05.name. Can she add an improbable sixth at the age of 36? Serena is

:03:06. > :03:16.chasing her seventh singles title, and Steffi Graf's total of 22 Grand

:03:17. > :03:19.Slam victories. We know that all the action will unfold on Centre Court

:03:20. > :03:24.as far as the ladies semifinals are concerned. In the first match,

:03:25. > :03:30.Serena, playing her 32nd Grand Slam semifinal. It is a first for her

:03:31. > :03:36.opponent, Elena Vesnina so. And then Kerber takes on Venus Williams.

:03:37. > :03:42.Kerber has the head-to-head advantage, but this is a whole new

:03:43. > :03:46.Venus. So, this is the scene on Centre Court at the moment with half

:03:47. > :03:53.an hour to go until the players walk out. Tracy and Lindsay are with me.

:03:54. > :03:59.It feels special on these big days. We heard you there. Anyone who has

:04:00. > :04:03.played for the last 16 years, has had to face one of the Williams

:04:04. > :04:07.sisters. They have really transformed the game, haven't they?

:04:08. > :04:12.They have, and more so on this than any other surface. The Williams

:04:13. > :04:19.sisters came along, with their powerful groundstrokes, taking balls

:04:20. > :04:23.early, they shifted women's tennis away from having to be a

:04:24. > :04:27.serve-volleyer, like Martina Navratilova did. It is still grass

:04:28. > :04:33.tennis but it is different. They have done it perfectly over the last

:04:34. > :04:38.16, 17 years. Especially Serena, she can turn defence into attack

:04:39. > :04:42.immediately. Absolutely. She has only lost serve six times in the

:04:43. > :04:47.tournament. It puts a lot of pressure on the opponent. Her serve

:04:48. > :04:53.is the best in the game. As we have seen many times in Majors, Serena

:04:54. > :04:58.has got better and better. The number of aces is starting to mount.

:04:59. > :05:06.She is hitting the ball so cleanly. She has so much confidence. When she

:05:07. > :05:09.gets to this stage of a Major, she grows in confidence. And she hasn't

:05:10. > :05:15.seemed a bit more calm here than she has seemed at the French or at the

:05:16. > :05:18.Australian. Somehow when she gets here, she just believes. I mention

:05:19. > :05:25.that it was her 32nd Grand Slam semifinal. What a difference for her

:05:26. > :05:31.opponent today. Saving herself for the Majors? Yes, and that is really

:05:32. > :05:36.smart for Serena. It is all about trying to get more Grand Slam

:05:37. > :05:39.titles. Sadly for the other parts of the world, they probably will not

:05:40. > :05:45.see her quite so much playing some of those tournaments. Her age, and

:05:46. > :05:49.with the injuries she has had, she needs to tailor her schedule. It is

:05:50. > :05:56.all about days like today, Grand Slam semifinals. Hopefully getting

:05:57. > :05:59.up towards 25 or so Grand Slam singles titles. Are you enjoying our

:06:00. > :06:06.summer? This is absolutely phenomenal, a little hot! The first

:06:07. > :06:10.week it was wet. And the second week, sonny. Perfect. This is your

:06:11. > :06:19.summer. You know who to blame, don't you? Carol?! Absolutely! Carol is

:06:20. > :06:26.waiting for us. I was listening to you this morning, and you were

:06:27. > :06:33.talking about rain. Is it going to spoil the singles matches to date?

:06:34. > :06:38.There is likely to be some interruption later on. I just wanted

:06:39. > :06:42.to say, I have always liked Tracy, she is such a star. Although we are

:06:43. > :06:45.basking in lovely sunshine at the moment and it is lovely and warm,

:06:46. > :06:54.more cloud will be building throughout the afternoon. Late

:06:55. > :07:00.afternoon into the evening, we are looking at the risk of shower. But

:07:01. > :07:04.it will go through quite quickly. Tomorrow, we will start off cloudy

:07:05. > :07:10.and wet. However, it is an improving picture. By about two o'clock, we

:07:11. > :07:15.will find that the sun will come out and it will be pleasant, with gentle

:07:16. > :07:19.breezes and temperatures up to 21. The weekend is looking a little bit

:07:20. > :07:22.more interesting. We have got a weather front on Saturday heading

:07:23. > :07:26.south. At the moment we think that ring bearing weather front will be

:07:27. > :07:33.just to the north of London. But it might come further south. -- rain

:07:34. > :07:41.bearing. If you stay out of that rain, it will be bright. It will be

:07:42. > :07:45.leaving us on Sunday, with a blustery day, some sunshine and also

:07:46. > :07:54.some showers. Sue, I learned from you yesterday, blustery is not good.

:07:55. > :07:59.No, it makes it more difficult for the players as well, with the ball

:08:00. > :08:03.moving around. We have had awkward bounces - that's enough. We have a

:08:04. > :08:07.royal visitor here today, the Duchess of Cambridge, arriving to

:08:08. > :08:14.take her place in the Royal Box. She has always been a big tennis fan.

:08:15. > :08:19.She has played tennis, along with her sister Pippa. Meeting

:08:20. > :08:23.representatives of the armed services. We have spoken about how

:08:24. > :08:27.they have been on duty all around the world and they volunteer to come

:08:28. > :08:36.here as stewards. It is different from other Grand Slam Scott Tracy?

:08:37. > :08:41.Absolutely, and that the history. I remember that lady who had flown

:08:42. > :08:45.Hurricaness. It is really quite special to honour them. The Duchess

:08:46. > :08:59.of Cambridge meeting one of the wheelchair athletes.

:09:00. > :09:16.And that is the Williams sisters' mother as well. She never seems to

:09:17. > :09:27.get nervous. She always keeps a smile. She really has been amazing.

:09:28. > :09:35.She has been through everything with them. My favourite quote of hers.

:09:36. > :09:43.She was asked, what are you going do tomorrow? She said, I think I might

:09:44. > :09:56.go shopping! It really is lovely. Sam Stosur is there as well.

:09:57. > :10:02.That is the Duchess of Cambridge, who will be enjoying the tennis here

:10:03. > :10:06.on Centre Court. We're going to start our preview of the Brive

:10:07. > :10:11.semifinals, starting with Venus Williams. I say it is a bit of a

:10:12. > :10:14.Hollywood movie story, because it is incredible how she has come back

:10:15. > :10:19.into the world top ten. She suffered illness with an autoimmune disorder.

:10:20. > :10:33.And here she is in the semifinal, at the age of 36.

:10:34. > :10:39.Been here around the block, a couple or 20 times! To be here this long,

:10:40. > :10:51.you have to want it. Every point is tough.

:10:52. > :11:02.COMMENTATOR: Venus Williams is the champion for the fifth time here at

:11:03. > :11:06.Wimbledon! I still feel 26. You have this thing inside you which feels

:11:07. > :11:13.like you can go for ever. It is the most incredible story, isn't it? It

:11:14. > :11:17.really is. To come out of cotton, coach by their father, who did not

:11:18. > :11:23.even play tennis, just learnt it from videos. To become world number

:11:24. > :11:26.one, have this great career, and then in 2011, letting us know that

:11:27. > :11:30.she had this illness, and still coming back and fighting. Now back

:11:31. > :11:35.in the Wimbledon semifinals after five or six years. She is always

:11:36. > :11:39.going to be a threat on this surface. It is just fantastic. She

:11:40. > :11:47.has really had to struggle in some of her matches. Three sets in some

:11:48. > :11:50.of them, and rain delays. And she has been playing doubles as well.

:11:51. > :11:57.They have not played doubles in three or four years. But they will

:11:58. > :12:02.be in Rio. And also today, in the quarterfinals, against Vesnina, of

:12:03. > :12:07.all things! The illness, it is fatigue and joint pain - everything

:12:08. > :12:15.you need to be a tennis player. It shows her passion and love of the

:12:16. > :12:18.game. It is, and she is not as demonstrative with her emotions as

:12:19. > :12:23.Serena is. We probably did not realise how much Venus actually

:12:24. > :12:29.loved it. And here she is, 36, it is already tough on an athlete's body.

:12:30. > :12:34.The wear and tear gets athletes a bit sore, not able to train as much,

:12:35. > :12:38.and then having to deal with this syndrome which makes it even harder.

:12:39. > :12:43.It is really remarkable. And for a great champion like Venus, and it

:12:44. > :12:47.has now been seven years since a Grand Slam semi, and a lot of times

:12:48. > :12:54.the media is so quick to write these players of. And she has refused to

:12:55. > :12:59.buy into any of that. She will not believe it, she is on her terms. And

:13:00. > :13:03.this is why. She believed she could get back to this moment when I give

:13:04. > :13:07.her so much respect for that. She was not listening to the negative

:13:08. > :13:12.comments about her. And she is back with another chance at a Grand Slam

:13:13. > :13:16.final. I think I was one, because I just felt we would not see her back

:13:17. > :13:21.here at this stage of the tournament again. Often we have seen champions,

:13:22. > :13:24.when they start to have a bit of a slight, they do not enjoy it, losing

:13:25. > :13:29.to players they have never lost to before. Even this year, she has not

:13:30. > :13:36.had a fantastic year. She won tournament in Taiwan but did not

:13:37. > :13:48.beat anybody higher ranked than 60. She look good last week. She did.

:13:49. > :13:52.This was a good match for Venus because she is a problem solver. We

:13:53. > :13:57.were a bit worried about fatigue, because she was in the doubles as

:13:58. > :14:11.well. Venus actually was down 5-2 in that first set tie-break. And she

:14:12. > :14:15.did not lose another point to! Today, she will take on Angelique

:14:16. > :14:19.Kerber of Germany. It is a big day for German sport. Do you know who

:14:20. > :14:28.they play in the Euros? Of course we knew that! France! I know who you

:14:29. > :14:38.guys lost to! Iceland! They are known for their foot or! They are

:14:39. > :14:41.now! Germany take on France, and Germany as a representative here. We

:14:42. > :15:32.really need to hear from a German icon. So, cue The Hoff!

:15:33. > :15:40.That might be the biggest surprise of the day! And his singing prowess!

:15:41. > :15:45.Memorable songs from The Hoff. This is Angelique Kerber, ActiveSync out

:15:46. > :15:52.on court today. I mentioned it is Germany against France, live on BBC

:15:53. > :15:55.One this evening. The Australian Open champion, Angelique, is feeling

:15:56. > :16:10.confident, as she told Rishi Persad. You are through to your second

:16:11. > :16:14.semifinal here at Wimbledon - how well do you think you played in the

:16:15. > :16:18.quarters? It was a tough match against Simone. We are both playing

:16:19. > :16:21.really good tennis and I think it was a really high class match. But I

:16:22. > :16:26.am really happy about my performance. I am playing really

:16:27. > :16:31.tough and trying to move in good and be aggressive. It was actually not

:16:32. > :16:34.so bad. It is better than that - you are the only player still left in

:16:35. > :16:39.the women's straw who has not dropped a set. Of course, I mean, it

:16:40. > :16:48.is always good to win matches in rev sets. But I think every single match

:16:49. > :16:52.I played here was different, and I was trying to play better from match

:16:53. > :16:55.to match, and of course it is good to be in the semis without dropping

:16:56. > :17:00.a set. You won the Australian Open earlier in the year, but you say

:17:01. > :17:04.you're playing your best tennis right now. Why is that? Actually I

:17:05. > :17:09.think I have a lot of confidence. I know how to play on grass, I know

:17:10. > :17:13.how to win against Willie good players. Semifinal against Venus

:17:14. > :17:16.Williams - you have had some exciting matches against her? That's

:17:17. > :17:20.right. And it was always tough and really close. I played against her

:17:21. > :17:23.here in the Olympics for years ago and she's always a dangerous

:17:24. > :17:27.opponent, especially here at Wimbledon on grass. But I am looking

:17:28. > :17:31.forward to playing against her again. I think it will be a good

:17:32. > :17:36.match. And I will give everything to beat her. She has the experience,

:17:37. > :17:43.doesn't shethe Australian Open champion, Lindsay, she has done it

:17:44. > :17:47.before? Yes, and that is huge. Also a Grand Slam champion, as you said.

:17:48. > :17:52.That makes a difference in the belief of a player. This is probably

:17:53. > :17:55.the worst surface for curb to play Venus on. I think it helps Venus's

:17:56. > :18:00.shots more and gives her more confidence. But winning a Major, not

:18:01. > :18:06.having dropped a set, and physically she is in such great shape, she

:18:07. > :18:12.moves so well, Kerber. If she can get enough balls back, keeping it

:18:13. > :18:16.really low, either with her slice or her flat ground strokes, that will

:18:17. > :18:20.be lower for Venus which will be really important today. She could

:18:21. > :18:26.not get a bigger contrast from whom she beat in the quarterfinal, Simona

:18:27. > :18:32.Halep. There were so many rallies in that match, and 13 breaks of serve!

:18:33. > :18:37.Yes, that match was all about receiving and returning. Kerber was

:18:38. > :18:43.broken sick times -- six times in that match. I think today she will

:18:44. > :18:47.need to get a lot of first serves in, because her second serve can be

:18:48. > :18:51.attacked. I think being a left-hander could help her on this

:18:52. > :18:58.surface as well, because of her slice. Kerber is so great. Look at

:18:59. > :19:02.her positioning. When she stays close to the baseline, she will not

:19:03. > :19:08.knock you off the court with power, but she can absorb pace and she

:19:09. > :19:14.retrieves so many balls. You feel she could last for five hours, if

:19:15. > :19:21.need be. We'll fatigue be a problem for Venus? The other thing is, at

:19:22. > :19:29.28, she is a lot more experienced. She is a late Bloomer. She was

:19:30. > :19:33.probably a bit overwhelmed when she got to the semifinals here before. I

:19:34. > :19:37.think she will be having a lot more belief in herself as a tennis player

:19:38. > :19:41.now, especially after winning the Australian. I think she will try and

:19:42. > :19:47.make Venus move as much as possible, using the angles. A globals, slices,

:19:48. > :19:52.angles. She cannot afford to get broken so many times as she did in

:19:53. > :19:58.the previous match, however. -- low balls. Yesterday was one of the

:19:59. > :20:00.greatest days in the history of the Championships. First of always on

:20:01. > :20:04.Roger Federer with his amazing comeback against Marin Cilic. And

:20:05. > :20:11.then Andy Murray survive the brutal test against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. In

:20:12. > :20:19.the fifth set, it was Murray at his finest.

:20:20. > :20:30.ANDREW CASTLE: Just getting his engine running here. He has got the

:20:31. > :20:49.ball on a string. He has not lost a set at the Championships - yet. He

:20:50. > :20:55.is not out of this match it. We are going the distance is caught.

:20:56. > :21:05.JOHN MCENROE: Beautifully done by Murray. What a return! That is it, a

:21:06. > :21:10.victory for willpower. When the match is going on, Ivan Lendl does

:21:11. > :21:15.not show much expression. But how much are you enjoying having him

:21:16. > :21:19.back in your corner? I am happy to have him back in my team. When it

:21:20. > :21:23.was first announced, as I said, I think he makes my team stronger. The

:21:24. > :21:27.work I have done with Jamie Delgado to get me to the place that I mean

:21:28. > :21:32.just now has been excellent. And hopefully, having Ivan around, and

:21:33. > :21:37.his input over the next few days, it will be able to help. Tomas Berdych

:21:38. > :21:42.has got a pretty good record here at Wimbledon, but it has been awhile

:21:43. > :21:46.since he has beaten you? Yes, we have never played on grass before,

:21:47. > :21:52.but he has made the final here before, he has beaten Djokovic and

:21:53. > :21:55.Federer on the grass. He is obviously playing some good tennis

:21:56. > :22:00.this week. I have only seen a little bit of his match from the fourth

:22:01. > :22:07.round, which he came through in five sets. Is a big guy, hits it hard. I

:22:08. > :22:15.will need to be on my game, for sure. Well, it will be Murray

:22:16. > :22:17.against Berdych tomorrow. And we will look forward to both of those

:22:18. > :22:26.semifinals. They could be quite special. Tracy, Lindsay, what a day

:22:27. > :22:32.yesterday. The tennis was outstanding, but the drama was

:22:33. > :22:36.second to none? Absolutely, what a great ticket to have. Roger going

:22:37. > :22:42.down two sets to love against Cilic. You're thinking, is this going to be

:22:43. > :22:46.a repeat of Cilic beating him wanting and does what a have that

:22:47. > :22:54.extra gear? He has had knee surgery, back injuries as well. And the

:22:55. > :23:06.crowd, wow! They fed him that extra energy which he needed. Cilic had

:23:07. > :23:10.three match points, and what a fantastic story. It gives a chance

:23:11. > :23:15.to possibly win the title. You can never count him out, absolutely.

:23:16. > :23:19.Andy Murray, he got so tends towards the start of the fifth set and

:23:20. > :23:23.really had to dig deep? Yes, and how big was that first game? I think

:23:24. > :23:26.that's when he yelled up to his box, I'm not going to lose this match.

:23:27. > :23:32.That seems to get him going as well. He started so well, did not play as

:23:33. > :23:37.well in the third and fourth sets, but how he got it together?! He has

:23:38. > :23:41.late great tennis. His level drops just a little bit, mostly due to how

:23:42. > :23:46.well Tsonga was playing. You have to love the fire he had in the fifth

:23:47. > :23:51.set. That was the difference in this match. Those first couple of games

:23:52. > :23:57.in that fifth set, that was the key. Look at the standard - Tsonga was

:23:58. > :24:01.white back to his best as well! He really was. He has a monstrous

:24:02. > :24:07.serve, which came together in the third and fourth. Variety as well,

:24:08. > :24:14.cracking that forehand. And Murray just scoop it up a notch. He used

:24:15. > :24:19.the crowd. I just always felt in that fifth set that Murray had that

:24:20. > :24:25.extra gear to go to, physically. Whereas Tsonga have a doctorate

:24:26. > :24:31.issue at Roland Garros,, and I did not know if he could sustain his

:24:32. > :24:39.level. I loved the quote from Roger Federer, he said, I thought, I

:24:40. > :24:43.tried, I believed. I think we could all say, Roger Federer did not play

:24:44. > :24:47.his best tennis, but he managed to get through. That will give him so

:24:48. > :24:52.much confidence that he still got through this match. He just has too

:24:53. > :24:58.hope that he will pull up physically OK. Raonic has looked ouzo fresh. I

:24:59. > :25:03.just hope Roger tomorrow is feeling good, energetic, and most

:25:04. > :25:08.importantly, healthy. At the press conference, he said, I'm going for a

:25:09. > :25:16.very long Sarge full stop anyway, we are almost ready for the first of

:25:17. > :25:19.our semifinals. -- very long Sarge. She's chasing her 22nd Grand Slam

:25:20. > :25:49.win, it is of course, the world number one.

:25:50. > :25:55.She is just in a league of her own. I was speaking to Milos Raonic. John

:25:56. > :25:59.McEnroe saying he wants him to have more presence, more all right, make

:26:00. > :26:02.himself felt on the other side of the net. No-one does that better

:26:03. > :26:09.than Serena! Absolutely, especially when she is down. You do not even

:26:10. > :26:13.feel your winning because she is so powerful, she has that well-deserved

:26:14. > :26:20.presence because of how consistent she has been, particularly in the

:26:21. > :26:23.last four years. She has just always been consistent, whereas some of the

:26:24. > :26:27.others have had that trouble of doing well, winning a major and then

:26:28. > :26:32.having a fluctuation in their results. It is really great to see

:26:33. > :26:36.Serena at 34 still playing at such a high level. In so many matches, you

:26:37. > :26:43.just feel, and she really needs it, there is an extra level. She was

:26:44. > :26:46.struggling in that first set, they closed the roof, she came out and

:26:47. > :26:50.did not lose another game. That extra level. She knows how to get

:26:51. > :26:54.better and better as she plays her way through events. More than 30

:26:55. > :27:10.Grand Slam semifinals, 32, and Vesnina, only one. It is a huge

:27:11. > :27:16.difference. Just an incredible career she has had? It has been, for

:27:17. > :27:22.Serena, the longevity, the focus, still at 34 years of age. I'm not

:27:23. > :27:27.sure yesterday was Vesnina's day of, she had doubles and mixed doubles.

:27:28. > :27:30.Now, sometimes, she has really had no time to think about the singles

:27:31. > :27:35.match until today. That can be better for a player, because they

:27:36. > :27:38.can get too nervous. But this is the biggest match of her whole career

:27:39. > :27:42.today. This is what she has practised for her whole life.

:27:43. > :27:48.Yesterday, Serena would have been all business. Everything would have

:27:49. > :27:50.been tailed towards that. Vesnina was playing doubles, back in the

:27:51. > :27:57.locker room, mixed doubles... She has been frantic, but it's great to

:27:58. > :28:03.see. She has been around for one of the most well liked players.

:28:04. > :28:07.Absolutely, I saw her in the locker room yesterday's. Bruno Soares, who

:28:08. > :28:14.she plays doubles with, he had that long match with Jamie Murray. So I

:28:15. > :28:18.think he pulled out of that. Everybody in the locker room was

:28:19. > :28:23.teasing her. Gosh, shame there is not more events you can enter! But

:28:24. > :28:28.she seemed extremely relaxed. I said, you need to save some edgy for

:28:29. > :28:31.tomorrow. But she has had an incredible and down. She said

:28:32. > :28:35.winning the mixed doubles with Soares at the Australian this year

:28:36. > :28:40.was the kick-start she needed. Vesnina was ranked 122 just this

:28:41. > :28:44.last February. She was having to qualify for so many tournaments.

:28:45. > :28:48.Finally in Doha, she beat Simona Halep and got to the quarterfinals.

:28:49. > :28:52.She went to Charleston, started in the qualifying and got all the way

:28:53. > :28:58.to the final, losing to Sloane Stephens. So she started to get some

:28:59. > :29:03.belief. But it is quite a run. We never would have fixed Vesnina, at

:29:04. > :29:07.50 in the world, to be in the semifinals. Certainly not. And we

:29:08. > :29:20.can hear from her now. How would you sum up your emotions

:29:21. > :29:25.as you head into the semifinals? I am happy and excited, I even had

:29:26. > :29:33.tears in my eyes after this match, quite the final against Dominika.

:29:34. > :29:37.Now here I am in the semifinal against Serena, and it is amazing. I

:29:38. > :29:42.have been around for a long time, and it has changed for me now. I am

:29:43. > :29:46.playing different, a more mature player, I understand the game much

:29:47. > :29:52.better than I was understanding it seven or eight years ago. You have

:29:53. > :29:56.to be more serious and more focused. Right now I am more serious and

:29:57. > :30:03.focused, I know how to warm up, how to recover, and that gives you a lot

:30:04. > :30:13.of pluses, little plusses, and your match game preparation as well. When

:30:14. > :30:17.you see people like Kerber and Muguruza coming through, that must

:30:18. > :30:22.give you hope that you can beat the domination of Serena. She has

:30:23. > :30:26.dominated for a long time, she is a legend, but she is still a human

:30:27. > :30:32.being. And that is a great attitude. She

:30:33. > :30:34.says she is more serious and focused, which she will certainly be

:30:35. > :30:38.at the moment. She is on her way from the locker room, and you know

:30:39. > :30:44.that walk, it is nerve wracking. It is a long walk, you pass pictures of

:30:45. > :30:50.former champions, the trophies. But I love that quote, she is only

:30:51. > :30:51.human, she just has to look to last year's semifinal. She knows that

:30:52. > :31:20.there is a chance. Here they come. Such a wonderful moment for Vesnina,

:31:21. > :31:28.but Serena certainly looking focused and ready, got her game face on

:31:29. > :31:32.again. This 22nd Grand Slam title has been so close since she left

:31:33. > :31:35.here last year. Absolutely, and I think most of us were feeling the

:31:36. > :31:40.way she was playing last year that by the time she came around back to

:31:41. > :31:45.2016 that she would already have 22 in hand. And I think Lindsay you

:31:46. > :31:52.made a terrific point, Serena last year losing in the semifinals to

:31:53. > :31:59.Berta Vinci, and she was 4-0 against her, and it is the same thing here,

:32:00. > :32:08.with Vesnina. And also known as a doubles player, as Roberta Vinci

:32:09. > :32:16.was, too. How about that, Serena is just turning her phone off! Maybe

:32:17. > :32:23.they were calling from the box. One more tip from Patrick! She has just

:32:24. > :32:25.been in awesome form at these championships, the server

:32:26. > :32:31.particularly has been good, hasn't it? 50 aces for a Serena, the most

:32:32. > :32:38.of anyone out there. She is putting sunscreen on now. She didn't do that

:32:39. > :32:47.before. She has needed to throughout these championships. But the first

:32:48. > :32:51.serve, 90% against Pavlyuchenkova. She wins so many free points, it

:32:52. > :32:54.gets the right of trouble in situations, but the second serve has

:32:55. > :32:59.been more problematic for Serena this tournament, that potentially

:33:00. > :33:02.could he a weak part of her game, but it is not necessarily the

:33:03. > :33:06.strength of Vesnina to attack the week serve. She will have to do

:33:07. > :33:10.something special today, because when Serena's first serve goes in,

:33:11. > :33:15.the chances of winning the point are just so slim. It is very important

:33:16. > :33:19.for Vesnina to have a quick start, because this could be a situation

:33:20. > :33:23.where Serena starts quickly. She has been here so many times, she can be

:33:24. > :33:27.like a freight train, she just takes over and it is so tough to get into

:33:28. > :33:30.the match. We know she was a finalist last year in doubles and

:33:31. > :33:36.two-time Grand Slam champion with Makarova, so we know she has played

:33:37. > :33:40.an big stages, but it is different to play in the singles semifinals

:33:41. > :33:44.against Serena, so it is important for her to get a quick start and

:33:45. > :33:49.maybe bring some of those nerves. We have seen Serena bring some nerves

:33:50. > :33:57.sometimes, we expected her to win the Australian Open, not Kerber, and

:33:58. > :34:06.Muguruza beat her at the French Open, but she served extremely well

:34:07. > :34:10.against Cibulkova, she hit to the corners beautifully with hard, flat

:34:11. > :34:13.ground strokes, she moves well, she really just has to stay in the

:34:14. > :34:18.moment, point by point, and not get overwhelmed with who was on the

:34:19. > :34:21.other side of the net. Years ago, so much was expected of her, she was

:34:22. > :34:27.expected to go way up to the top and didn't deliver. We see that

:34:28. > :34:32.sometimes in women's tennis, the expectations. Pavlyuchenkova said

:34:33. > :34:36.she wished she had never been the number one junior in the world,

:34:37. > :34:40.because people are so quick to look for the next star, we don't

:34:41. > :34:43.appreciate who the current stars. Vesnina got married last off-season,

:34:44. > :34:52.she says that has helped tremendously this year. And Tracy

:34:53. > :34:57.said it, she has made some great starts. She is amazing, and handled

:34:58. > :35:02.this success, this tournament beautifully. It sounds like she has

:35:03. > :35:06.the right attitude. Attitude and experience. The average age of a

:35:07. > :35:12.first semifinalist is 31 years and nine months. Most of the time, back

:35:13. > :35:20.a decade ago, and 30 19 months, they would be our when you will retire.

:35:21. > :35:24.Or they were already retiring! Venus and Serena have done such a great

:35:25. > :35:28.job of 36 and 34 of setting another standard, that you can play at this

:35:29. > :35:34.level, at such a high level into your 30s if you want to. Sports

:35:35. > :35:38.medicine has come so far, girls are fitter, they have the recovery

:35:39. > :35:42.process, the ice baths, all of that, and therefore we are seeing

:35:43. > :35:47.champions, and some people that are blooming at later stages in their

:35:48. > :35:51.careers. And Serena, we talk so much about the serve, the return of

:35:52. > :35:57.service strong. She has to get a high percentage of first serves in,

:35:58. > :36:01.Vesnina. She does. I was looking at the service statistics, Vesnina has

:36:02. > :36:07.a more powerful, by about three miles per hour, second serve. The

:36:08. > :36:11.first serve hits the location is very well, and again, it is a

:36:12. > :36:15.question of how she starts and how she plays, and whether she can

:36:16. > :36:19.handle the nerves of the moment, and whether the moment overtakes her,

:36:20. > :36:25.because for Serena, this is an everyday occurrence for her. And we

:36:26. > :36:28.were talking a little bit about Patrick, he has been working with

:36:29. > :36:31.Serena, and she gives him so much credit in the fact that he has

:36:32. > :36:35.motivated her to get back and play the Grand Slams and be ready for the

:36:36. > :36:38.big occasions. What an important move it turns out that was for

:36:39. > :36:46.Serena back in 2012 to add someone new. They always kept a really

:36:47. > :36:50.close, tight camp, and Serena Willie went out of the box and hired

:36:51. > :36:56.Patrick, and he has made a world of difference to her. He got her to see

:36:57. > :37:00.what she could still do and what she was laying for, to go down as the

:37:01. > :37:04.greatest female player of all-time, and she wants that more than

:37:05. > :37:08.anything. Sometimes she doesn't look that impressed, but you can telling

:37:09. > :37:14.how she approaches these matches how much it means to her, and that is

:37:15. > :37:16.Patrick's doing. When you get older, winning a Grand Slam is about

:37:17. > :37:22.chasing a record, and she is desperate for this 22nd slam. And

:37:23. > :37:27.she was asked, do you think about 22? And she said, and just thinking

:37:28. > :37:32.about winning titles, the Australian, the French, Wimbledon. I

:37:33. > :37:35.am not thinking about 22, and she wouldn't be thinking about that

:37:36. > :37:39.today, because she knows Vesnina could be dangerous, and you don't

:37:40. > :37:45.want to overlook any opponent. We thought we were already giving her

:37:46. > :37:49.the final at the Australian last year when she took on Roberta Vinci,

:37:50. > :38:01.and that gave her the shock. Thank you to Tracy and Lindsay, and

:38:02. > :38:03.Lindsey is on her way to the commentary box to join John McEnroe

:38:04. > :38:13.and John Inverdale. JOHN INVERDALE: Welcome, the sun is

:38:14. > :38:17.shining down on Centre Court. This is a lifetime opportunity for

:38:18. > :38:31.Serena, and is Vesnina clutching at straws to challenger today? But she

:38:32. > :38:39.lost to Roberta Vinci last year. Good afternoon, Mr McEnroe.

:38:40. > :38:47.JOHN McENROE: I would say that the victory.

:38:48. > :38:59.And Lindsay, how are you? LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Very well, thank

:39:00. > :39:05.you. Two Johns! You are the rows between two thorns. How anyone head

:39:06. > :39:09.you rationalise your chances of playing in a match like this? I

:39:10. > :39:15.first of all take a very good look at the match of the -- tape of the

:39:16. > :39:21.match you just mentioned, Roberta Vinci. She hits a flatter ball,

:39:22. > :39:32.Vesnina, Identix pecked to be to do the things that Vinci did at the US

:39:33. > :39:36.Open, -- I don't expect her. But she has appeared to be extremely wound

:39:37. > :39:39.up in those matches she has lost, battling herself, trying to tie

:39:40. > :39:45.Steffi Graf at 22, so I would be continuously telling myself, she has

:39:46. > :39:50.never been here, so it is going to be hard not to be overwhelmed, but

:39:51. > :39:55.she is on the best role of her life, and she certainly has got nothing to

:39:56. > :40:00.lose. How do you play a match as though you were playing anyone in

:40:01. > :40:02.the first round, when you look up and see the person that she

:40:03. > :40:10.described as a legend, this persona, this aura? Viz being who has

:40:11. > :40:16.achieved so much? How'd you take that out of the equation? It is

:40:17. > :40:19.almost impossible, which is why it is rare to see these monumental

:40:20. > :40:24.upsets from a player with not much experience.

:40:25. > :40:27.APPLAUSE She needs to focus on the ball,

:40:28. > :40:30.continue to breathe and try to remember all the excellent tennis

:40:31. > :40:35.that you have played in this tournament to get you to this point.

:40:36. > :40:40.And get off to a good start. So important to get the nerves out of

:40:41. > :40:44.the system early. She is an accomplished doubles player, she has

:40:45. > :40:51.been aggressive, trying to take it to Serena is hard to do.

:40:52. > :40:55.APPLAUSE Huge applause for Serena Williams,

:40:56. > :41:01.her 32nd Grand Slam semifinal. UMPIRE: This Nina to serve. Ready,

:41:02. > :42:06.play. Serena will have perfected those

:42:07. > :42:23.first two shots, in a way that no other female player has.

:42:24. > :43:08.That is the first good solid blow that the Russian has landed.

:43:09. > :43:16.One of Vesnina's problems if she doesn't win too many of those major

:43:17. > :43:18.serves, and she hits the flat ball, that will be really nice for Serena.

:43:19. > :43:34.That is what she wants. But if your natural game is to hit a

:43:35. > :43:44.flat ball, you can't suddenly for one occasion invented new game.

:43:45. > :43:52.And sometimes it is just a game of match-up to Mac. A pretty emphatic

:43:53. > :43:58.start from Serena. Jimmy Connors had a flat all, and you could get a

:43:59. > :44:02.groove on it, you felt like you are hitting great, he almost dead you to

:44:03. > :44:09.trade ground strokes, and he was so good at it, the level here, the

:44:10. > :44:12.experience here is so vast. It is almost something that she should

:44:13. > :44:24.contemplate to try to do something different, because like Lindsay

:44:25. > :44:26.said, it is a good matchup. She has won 80% on her first serve in this

:44:27. > :44:32.championship. What is her career? It must be close

:44:33. > :44:54.to that. In that last game, Vesnina hit her

:44:55. > :45:00.second serve that 98 mph, much faster than the average, but she

:45:01. > :45:11.still wasn't winning those points. One game put away.

:45:12. > :46:11.Is good to be able to hold the serve until you need it. That is probably

:46:12. > :46:17.the best second serve that she has hit so far. If she can put ten mph

:46:18. > :46:25.more on the first serve, it will come at some point. If Vesnina knew

:46:26. > :46:26.she was facing an uphill task five bits ago, it just got a little

:46:27. > :46:42.steeper. Her legs are twice as heavy as they

:46:43. > :46:46.normally are, she is so tight. Frozen, almost. She is unable to

:46:47. > :47:28.really move around the court yet. And sometimes it doesn't matter how

:47:29. > :47:32.well you play, if you are playing Serena, and she is locked and

:47:33. > :47:36.dialled in like she is early in this match, she has the ability to just

:47:37. > :47:48.completely takes a play out of her opponent's hands.

:47:49. > :48:07.Well, that will make us feel a bit better.

:48:08. > :48:11.APPLAUSE And that is what Vesnina has to do

:48:12. > :48:21.right now, just go for big, high risk shot, just to win a point.

:48:22. > :48:29.It is worth saying that Vinci did lose the first set against Serena

:48:30. > :48:29.last year, which made what happened subsequently all the more

:48:30. > :48:53.extraordinary. This is the situation that Vesnina

:48:54. > :49:25.must have dreaded at the start. Roger Federer, who you will be seen

:49:26. > :49:29.tomorrow, at this stage of their career, him and Serena, they have

:49:30. > :49:31.been around a long time, still move well, but to me, neither one as well

:49:32. > :49:42.as they did in their prime. You could make an argument that

:49:43. > :49:48.Serena is going for the slam, she did pretty well there! Vesnina, 29

:49:49. > :49:58.aces for the tournament, she could use a bunch right now.

:49:59. > :50:04.UMPIRE: Let, first serve. After the extraordinary goings-on on

:50:05. > :50:16.Centre Court yesterday, as well. I'm sure the crowd here would love

:50:17. > :50:24.Vesnina to make this a contest, but goodness me. This second serve not

:50:25. > :50:28.going wide enough, right into the strike zone of Serena's forehand,

:50:29. > :50:38.she didn't have to move a step there.

:50:39. > :50:41.Was that one of the greatest days ever on Centre Court yesterday? I

:50:42. > :50:55.think so. Roger found a way, and then Jo

:50:56. > :51:00.really stepped up. I have never seen Andy Murray as excited as he was,

:51:01. > :51:04.positive emotions. And the first chance we have had to say this,

:51:05. > :51:08.congratulations on masterminding your man into the semifinals against

:51:09. > :51:15.Roger! Doubtless you will be telling Milos but Roger isn't moving as well

:51:16. > :51:20.as he used to, and that is the thing to do. Doubtless. When you play

:51:21. > :51:25.against a player that good, you want to attempt, a lot easier said than

:51:26. > :51:30.done, but Cilic was doing an outstanding job, taking the racket

:51:31. > :51:35.out of his hands. But your guy has the potential to do that.

:51:36. > :51:41.Definitely. So did Cilic. He had three match points, it looked like

:51:42. > :51:45.the makings of straight sets. He played great, regrouped after

:51:46. > :51:52.tightening up, on some of those shots, played a tremendous fourth

:51:53. > :51:56.set, Roger hung around. A truly remarkable great, great effort. But

:51:57. > :51:59.the other thing I would tell him, maybe this is a blessing in

:52:00. > :52:07.disguise, the upside is tremendous when you play Roger, Fahey as well

:52:08. > :52:10.-- for him as well, he is about 1035, maybe his body won't bounce

:52:11. > :52:16.back as quickly as it did in the past. Here is your chance. You can't

:52:17. > :52:20.tell Vesnina the same thing, though. I wouldn't be able to look in the

:52:21. > :52:29.eye and tell her that. If you are telling Milos to accentuate the

:52:30. > :52:31.upside, what is the upside here for Vesnina? She is on Centre Court at

:52:32. > :52:54.Wimbledon! She is actually thinking of a way

:52:55. > :53:00.not to be embarrassed in this match. There is a school where it comes

:53:01. > :53:02.about not competing a 20 win, it comes about, getting a game soon. --

:53:03. > :53:28.there is a score. That is a very focused Serena that

:53:29. > :53:37.you were talking about. So often you can see just by looking in her eyes.

:53:38. > :53:54.Bad news for Vesnina, she has come out, started this match like a woman

:53:55. > :54:08.Every club tennis player watching and listening to us at home will

:54:09. > :54:11.emphasise with that. 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, you stop thinking about the ball and

:54:12. > :54:16.keep looking at the scoreboard. Please can I just have one? She

:54:17. > :54:37.doesn't appear to be in a very giving mood, Serena.

:54:38. > :54:45.Unfortunately for Vesnina, Serena is the opposite. She will want to see

:54:46. > :54:53.two bagels on that scoreboard. That might be the key couple of words,

:54:54. > :54:54.0-40 down. It won't matter a lot in this game, but hopefully down the

:54:55. > :55:05.road, give her some confidence. She can feel the crowd is obviously

:55:06. > :55:21.going to start pulling for her, especially early in the second set.

:55:22. > :55:32.They played four times before, eight sets, all won by Serena, and

:55:33. > :55:38.cumulatively, Vesnina has won 19 games across those four matches.

:55:39. > :55:43.Statistics don't like, and at the moment, things are looking gloomy

:55:44. > :55:45.for the Russian. Her normally smiling and brilliant face is deep

:55:46. > :55:55.in concentration. APPLAUSE

:55:56. > :56:35.That's more like it! We could discuss this ad nauseam if

:56:36. > :56:38.it comes to pass, but how much does Serena want to play Venus in the

:56:39. > :57:09.final on Saturday? That is a great question. Or not want to?

:57:10. > :57:18.Most importantly, she is concentrating on getting to the

:57:19. > :57:23.final. That was a huge punch from Serena Wright at the end. Actually

:57:24. > :57:29.great defence from Serena. She doesn't need to do that so often. At

:57:30. > :57:31.least Vesnina is starting to find her legs and move, she was frozen

:57:32. > :57:48.the first few games. I only ask that question because if

:57:49. > :57:52.Venus was to win the next match, and Serena lost this, how much would she

:57:53. > :58:00.say, I would have given anything for that opportunity? She missed that. I

:58:01. > :58:06.think for Serena, it is probably easier for her to focus if it wasn't

:58:07. > :58:09.against her sister, but for her sister's sake, she once Venus to get

:58:10. > :58:12.to the final. I don't know how they do it. You played your brother. We

:58:13. > :58:25.played three times. I thought you would say how hard it

:58:26. > :58:43.was emotionally. Venus handles it unbelievably well,

:58:44. > :58:46.she seems to be Morra get -- more worried about Serena then Serena is.

:58:47. > :58:51.Serena gets the job done and then she worries about Venus. I thought

:58:52. > :59:03.you meant beating your brother, you would let him have a game. Nope!

:59:04. > :59:11.APPLAUSE Got her on the board.

:59:12. > :59:29.Three aces, as well. Vesnina hasn't played poorly. Serena is sharp.

:59:30. > :59:53.There will be a huge cheer if she wins this point.

:59:54. > :00:00.CHEERING A couple of nice doubles shots

:00:01. > :00:17.there. It is that shout that this Nina

:00:18. > :00:22.does, I guess it can be annoying to opponents if she is beating them.

:00:23. > :00:31.Not bothering Serena a lot right now. When this -- Vesnina played

:00:32. > :00:38.Cibulkova, that was quite a noisy match. You are thinking of

:00:39. > :00:46.Radwanska. I meant Radwanska. In terms of Serena's longevity,

:00:47. > :00:51.everybody was talking about, your average tennis career, think about

:00:52. > :00:55.if you think about what is so amazing about Roger, but the fact

:00:56. > :00:58.that he still desperately wants to be so brilliant, not just that he

:00:59. > :01:03.is. And you could say the same about Serena. That is a great point. I

:01:04. > :01:09.have never seen a guy love playing as much as Roger, and it plays off.

:01:10. > :01:13.UMPIRE: Time. And in Serena I have never seen a better competitor,

:01:14. > :01:17.someone who has come from match point down, match game down, sets

:01:18. > :01:23.down, the Will she to win, the perfect example is when she his hard

:01:24. > :01:27.to play her sister, she has been able to more easily overcome the

:01:28. > :01:29.fact that they are siblings and just put that aside and get the job done.

:01:30. > :01:55.I find that amazing. Incomplete control at the moment.

:01:56. > :02:00.That serve, she starts to pop it... LINDSAY DAVENPORT: The big

:02:01. > :02:04.difference for me with Roger and Serena, I feel like Roger is trying

:02:05. > :02:09.so hard to win one more. I feel like Serena is trying so hard to win four

:02:10. > :02:17.or five more and breaking the all-time record of Grand Slam

:02:18. > :02:20.singles titles. JOHN MCENROE: I think the

:02:21. > :02:22.best-of-five scenario makes it a lot harder for Roger to even think about

:02:23. > :02:48.winning more than one. JOHN INVERDALE: For the motivation

:02:49. > :02:54.is the same. With the push lately of players developing later, and

:02:55. > :03:01.looking to win Majors at 21, 22, 20 three. When Serena started winning

:03:02. > :03:03.Majors, she was still a teenager. Certainly it has helped her

:03:04. > :03:25.accumulator a few more by being so good, so early.

:03:26. > :03:31.Gueye Miss Williams. JOHN INVERDALE: Just the six aces so

:03:32. > :04:08.far for Serena. Let's look at this positively. Hold

:04:09. > :04:15.my serve here, and I will serve at the start of the second set.

:04:16. > :04:58.Oh, yes! We are starting to see at least some inklings of how and why

:04:59. > :05:01.she was able to get to this position, which is good news. At

:05:02. > :05:13.least we might have a competitive match here in the second set.

:05:14. > :05:22.She has never been known for her speed around the court. You throw in

:05:23. > :05:31.the nerves, and it's making it awfully tough for her to track down

:05:32. > :06:07.Serena Williams' pace off the ground.

:06:08. > :06:31.It is an awful feeling playing any sport - why won't my body move, like

:06:32. > :06:35.I know it can and it should and it normally does? Well, my last match

:06:36. > :06:41.that I played on this Centre Court, that's how I felt a! I sort of felt

:06:42. > :06:44.like Vesnina feels right now. I was playing a guy by the name of Andre

:06:45. > :06:50.Agassi. It felt like no matter how good a serve I was hitting, my neck

:06:51. > :06:57.started hurting so much, and it would go by me. My legs did not feel

:06:58. > :07:02.like... Vesnina is 29 or 30, so she is probably... I don't think she

:07:03. > :07:10.thinks this is the start of something. Oh, yes, now I'm going to

:07:11. > :07:15.start getting to Grand Slam semis. This is her shot, in a way. It is

:07:16. > :07:19.very hard not to allow the nerves to get into the mix as well. She is not

:07:20. > :07:28.used to playing in an event like this. Lindsay, you were discussing

:07:29. > :07:30.beforehand about is how you were from a generation which played

:07:31. > :07:36.doubles as well. She pulled out of the mixed doubles last night. Would

:07:37. > :07:42.she have been utter off have a clear day yesterday's yesterday to get her

:07:43. > :07:50.head into this? We will never know. It is so easy to second-guess. She

:07:51. > :07:53.has got a great chance here possibly to win the doubles. Unfortunately

:07:54. > :08:00.she has to play Serena again later today. I would predict a better

:08:01. > :08:01.chance in doubles! Here she is, Serena, after 26 minutes, serving

:08:02. > :08:48.for this first set. Vesnina is hitting some high-quality

:08:49. > :08:53.shots, but Serena is onto it. We were talking about her movement.

:08:54. > :09:00.Even in Australia this year, I don't think she looked 100%. And she has

:09:01. > :09:02.moved better at this year's Wimbledon then I think she was 6-8

:09:03. > :09:18.months ago, because of her knee. UMPIRE: Game and first set, Miss

:09:19. > :09:36.Williams. Those groundstrokes, it's really

:09:37. > :09:43.just what the doctor ordered for Serena. She is hitting every ball

:09:44. > :09:48.around the waist. She knows what she's getting. She is not being

:09:49. > :09:52.thrown off at all. Ironically, people would criticise her early in

:09:53. > :09:59.her career for not playing enough and taking time off, not having

:10:00. > :10:01.enough events to be ranked number one in the world, like everybody

:10:02. > :10:07.expected she should be. But that's actually... Stompie now, and the

:10:08. > :10:15.others have fallen by the wayside. Exactly. I suppose also, what you

:10:16. > :10:23.have to say to people who might be here for the first time, on Centre

:10:24. > :10:30.Court, especially after what happened yesterday's, you would have

:10:31. > :10:33.to say, what you are seeing is arguably the greatest woman tennis

:10:34. > :10:41.player of all time, perhaps one of the greatest women sportspeople of

:10:42. > :10:49.all time. And you will be able to say, I saw Serena Williams. In

:10:50. > :10:54.addition to her sister as well. The two of them, what a story. In 100

:10:55. > :11:01.years, has that ever happened? And the second semifinal we predict to

:11:02. > :11:04.be the more competitive of the two. But you're seeing the most powerful

:11:05. > :11:08.athlete certainly that has ever played tennis. As you said, possibly

:11:09. > :12:08.one of the greatest female athletes of all time.

:12:09. > :12:19.The net is on her side. She HAS to win this game, doesn't she, to make

:12:20. > :12:49.it any kind of contest? She has to feel that she has a lead.

:12:50. > :12:57.Every single shot seems to be perfectly in the strike zone of

:12:58. > :13:00.Serena. When you hear the crispness of a shot like that, you can tell

:13:01. > :13:39.what a good shot it has been. A combination of nerves, weariness,

:13:40. > :13:48.heavy legs, is really causing some problems for Vesnina. Serena sensing

:13:49. > :13:51.it, going behind her. She has got that ruthless look about her today,

:13:52. > :14:35.Serena. UMPIRE: Game, Miss Williams.

:14:36. > :14:46.JOHN INVERDALE: You can't afford to do that. You can see Elena Vesnina's

:14:47. > :14:57.dad in the front row, in the white. And her coach. He travels on tour

:14:58. > :15:04.with her. When you're a parent, coach, friend, whatever, and your

:15:05. > :15:25.person is in this kind of situation, it is not easy.

:15:26. > :16:00.Hawk-Eye, actually redundant so far in this match, because Serena is

:16:01. > :16:07.playing that well. 123 - fastest serve of the tournament. No-one else

:16:08. > :16:12.on the tour can consistently get that kind of powerful serve in. And

:16:13. > :16:20.then you combine that with the feel and placement that she has with some

:16:21. > :16:37.of the slower service. Look at that! That was ridiculous! -- the slower

:16:38. > :16:42.serves. And already, I am throwing Vesnina's life forward 20 years, and

:16:43. > :16:46.she's saying, I had one Grand Slam semifinal, and it just went by in

:16:47. > :16:53.the blink of an eye. That will be the saddest thing. With talking

:16:54. > :17:03.about games on the scoreboard. Next, it goes to time on court. Right now,

:17:04. > :17:11.we are on just 35 minutes. Will she make it to an hour? If that happens,

:17:12. > :17:20.something good will have happened for her.

:17:21. > :17:34.But right now that is going to be extremely difficult to do.

:17:35. > :17:44.It's the sun, it's the heat, it's the emotion, it's life. More than

:17:45. > :18:19.anything else, it's her opponent. And error from the Williams racket.

:18:20. > :18:25.In two hours' time, we could say that was the turning point in the

:18:26. > :18:37.match! You are so optimistic! 20 years from now! A she will be

:18:38. > :19:02.saying, that forehand from Serena changed my life. You never know!

:19:03. > :19:30.JOHN INVERDALE: The scoreboard as one other interesting statistic -

:19:31. > :19:53.just 38 minutes played. All Serena. Amey Miss Williams.

:19:54. > :19:57.UMPIRE: Mrs Vesnina is challenging the call.

:19:58. > :20:05.JOHN INVERDALE: Hawk-Eye has been awoken from its slumber. No, it is

:20:06. > :20:14.well wide. UMPIRE: Game, Miss Williams.

:20:15. > :20:31.And the end gets ever nearer. Venus and Angelique... Better get warming

:20:32. > :20:36.up! It is difficult to know what to say, when the gulf in class is so

:20:37. > :20:42.huge. But there was always a risk that this might happen. The bigger

:20:43. > :20:45.the match, the bigger the occasion, the more likely this is to happen.

:20:46. > :20:50.Vesnina would have had a bigger chance in the second round or third

:20:51. > :20:55.round. But at this point, Serena's game has got better as the

:20:56. > :20:59.tournament has gone on, more than any other player.

:21:00. > :21:04.SUE BARKER: Certainly one way traffic on Centre Court at the

:21:05. > :21:08.moment. We're going to leave this match here on BBC Two. You can

:21:09. > :21:17.continue watching it live on BBC One. We're going to bring you some

:21:18. > :21:22.ladies doubles, a quarterfinal, and this is Martina Hingis and her

:21:23. > :21:27.partner Sagna Mirza. They have lost the first set, the defending

:21:28. > :21:32.champions. They are also a break down to the normal five seeds. Let's

:21:33. > :21:37.join this one with Andrew Castle and Louise plumbing.

:21:38. > :21:43.ANDREW CASTLE: Thank you very much. Bright sunshine, probably 80% in

:21:44. > :21:47.here, a little bit more than that. Martina Hingis and Sagna Mirza, as

:21:48. > :22:04.you say, have not had it their own way at all.

:22:05. > :22:16.Hingis especially has been struggling to hold serve.

:22:17. > :22:29.But she does this time, in what was a must-win aim.

:22:30. > :22:34.I think most people, Louise, would have been looking forward to seeing

:22:35. > :22:39.this power. Martina Hingis, one of the finest, what is the word,

:22:40. > :22:44.craftspeople, on a court, I have ever seen. 43 singles titles, the

:22:45. > :22:51.last of those back in 2007. But doubles Grand Slam, or for Major

:22:52. > :22:58.Championships, as long as goers 1998, three of them with Jana

:22:59. > :23:10.Novotna. And the Australian Open, as a 15-year-old, with Helena Sukova.

:23:11. > :23:14.Yes, an incredible story. I was lucky enough to just watch her play

:23:15. > :23:26.in the finals of the mixed doubles, at the French Open, where she played

:23:27. > :23:30.with Leander Paes. Clearly she is the best doubles player in the

:23:31. > :23:36.world, along with Sagna Mirza. They were playing against each other in

:23:37. > :23:44.that particular match. And Leander Paes and Martina have won or four

:23:45. > :23:47.Majors together in the next as welcome of course. Meanwhile, that

:23:48. > :24:15.was a big hold. She had a lot of matches ahead of

:24:16. > :24:22.her this week. She said, I have only played three matches, and I'm still

:24:23. > :24:29.in singles, doubles and mixed. She is such a fantastic athlete, she's a

:24:30. > :24:35.machine. Nice problem to have. And that is where this match is going to

:24:36. > :24:41.be won for this pair. They have to start to take control of the net.

:24:42. > :24:44.They have allowed Babos and Shvedova to really control that area. That is

:24:45. > :25:09.where their strength is, moving forwards, closing down the net.

:25:10. > :26:15.Just a fraction too early there, Andrew. On the ball toss?! 69mph on

:26:16. > :26:17.that second serve. A bit pushy, set and a break up against the top

:26:18. > :26:42.seeds. That's a ridiculous angle. How did

:26:43. > :26:45.she hit that? Must have been a slight mis-hit. That's not very

:26:46. > :26:48.generous of you, but I know what you mean! She absolutely clocks it on

:26:49. > :27:17.the forehand side! That's unusual. She's getting a

:27:18. > :27:23.little tight out here. For every reason. Babos and Shvedova have just

:27:24. > :27:56.started like machine guns. They've been just so solid.

:27:57. > :28:02.You think it's just lucky positioning. But they really do

:28:03. > :28:08.practice that. Just watching their opponent, getting their racket out

:28:09. > :28:24.in front. He will be very happy with his charge at the moment.

:28:25. > :28:30.They haven't both played well at the same time - yet. You get the feeling

:28:31. > :28:59.that if they do, they could turn this around quite quickly.

:29:00. > :29:53.Critical moment right here for Hingis and Sonia Mears, to get back

:29:54. > :31:03.in this. They have to break here. They are winning every exchange they

:31:04. > :31:10.possibly could, just when you think they are out of position, they pick

:31:11. > :31:14.it up. That one was well selected. And that was a game to win to

:31:15. > :31:23.maintain the break under enormous pressure. Look at the reaction. Love

:31:24. > :31:37.it. Just such great chemistry, body language.

:31:38. > :31:49.Near future there. Again, good presence of the net from Shvedova.

:31:50. > :31:51.She really does make it look like you don't have a lot of space to hit

:31:52. > :32:10.into. Mirza has been exposed more than

:32:11. > :32:15.Hingis in this match, more errors than we are used to seeing. She is

:32:16. > :32:36.the top seed in the mixed bubble with Ivan Dodig. -- the mixed ovals.

:32:37. > :34:00.Oh, she tried to get involved, trying a little too hard there,

:34:01. > :34:05.Martina Hingis, trying to help her partner.

:34:06. > :34:15.Well, great hands and great understanding, sort of intuitive

:34:16. > :34:18.belief in each other. As we have a look at this wonderful rally from

:34:19. > :34:25.Shvedova, how do partners select each other? There are many different

:34:26. > :34:29.ways, but I think you want to look at game styles, and try to get two

:34:30. > :34:38.game styles that really fit well together. If you look at Hingis and

:34:39. > :34:43.Mirza, Mirza has the big forehand that hit through the court, and that

:34:44. > :34:47.sets up Hingis very well. I love the way these pair moved together, they

:34:48. > :34:53.are almost like a wall at the net. De you just make a phone call and

:34:54. > :34:57.say, do you fancy it? Yes, you go and you watch and you think, I like

:34:58. > :35:01.how she plays, you will have a chat, perhaps your coach might go, you can

:35:02. > :35:06.Facebook someone. There are many variations. If you are stuck, most

:35:07. > :35:09.of these girls do know each other, and if your partner is not going to

:35:10. > :35:14.the next tournament, you just say, have you got somebody? Let's go. But

:35:15. > :35:18.for a long-term partner, you really want to look at the assets, trying

:35:19. > :35:22.to get game styles that are complementary. I think I would play

:35:23. > :35:29.great with you, Andrew. It would be an honour! We would complement each

:35:30. > :35:43.other, that's for sure. , we would have a laugh.

:35:44. > :35:53.I will take care of the net, and you can take care of the rest. You

:35:54. > :35:55.haven't seen my forehand! The continental grip works on a wet

:35:56. > :36:28.grass court, that is about it. I think I would rather enjoy a Punic

:36:29. > :36:38.Lada and watch the television. Jordanne Whiley on court 16 at the

:36:39. > :36:52.moment. She is a fantastic sportsperson.

:36:53. > :37:05.It is a great choice again. Martina really trying to inject herself into

:37:06. > :37:08.this match because time is running about, there is no doubt that she

:37:09. > :37:23.has to try to make an impression. But Babos, big hitting.

:37:24. > :37:30.It has been a long time since I have seen this pair just not find that

:37:31. > :37:49.momentum, that path that they normally just so

:37:50. > :37:56.just a little long. I think there are two pairs in the draw I would

:37:57. > :38:05.not want to see, the un-seeded Williams sisters, and Babos and

:38:06. > :38:32.Shvedova, they are in to refix form. -- terrific form.

:38:33. > :38:48.You can probably hear from the crowd that this is a bit of a surprise.

:38:49. > :38:50.They appeared to be strengthening, but they are on the receiving end

:38:51. > :39:01.here, serving to stay in the match. Serena Williams, Venus Williams,

:39:02. > :39:06.they haven't lost a set yet either, saw them playing on court 18 earlier

:39:07. > :39:07.this week, you couldn't move for the people everywhere trying to get a

:39:08. > :39:15.glimpse of these two champions. Something exceptional has to happen

:39:16. > :39:48.right now the Hingis and Mirza. First ace of the match should for

:39:49. > :40:02.the top seeds. And now they must serve it out, and

:40:03. > :40:06.this is going to be interesting, because if nerves do get a hold,

:40:07. > :40:11.Hingis and Mirza could break a couple of times. I hate to pre-empt

:40:12. > :40:15.something like that, we have seen its only times, a bit of

:40:16. > :40:17.inspiration, the winning line approaches and it is difficult to

:40:18. > :40:23.get over it, and it would be a big win for Shvedova and Babos. I think

:40:24. > :40:27.that will be the hope that the back of their mind, that that will be the

:40:28. > :40:34.situation here. Sania Mirza not getting the ball back as much as

:40:35. > :40:38.Martina. And if you are letting your partner down a little bit, you feel

:40:39. > :40:42.it. She has just been the player that hasn't quite got into this

:40:43. > :40:47.match at the moment, Mirza, just playing a little flat, and worried

:40:48. > :40:52.how they are going to get into this match, and how they are going to

:40:53. > :40:56.save this situation. Time is just almost locked out for them.

:40:57. > :41:09.Just a reminder to Shvedova that she is serving for this match. That will

:41:10. > :41:37.get the butterflies tingling! I remember one year at the

:41:38. > :41:42.Australian Open I was playing against Stobbs and Raymond, I work

:41:43. > :41:44.play my partner's name, but she served four double faults. It was

:41:45. > :41:48.painful. So, we have seen one. Don't! It

:41:49. > :42:12.would happen. -- won't happen. A little swing

:42:13. > :42:31.there from Martina. Just needed to move forwards.

:42:32. > :42:52.UMPIRE: This Hingis and Mirza are challenging the call. It is good.

:42:53. > :42:57.Now, I would have had that at 15-30. Replay the point. I would have

:42:58. > :43:26.fought like I should win that point. Yes.

:43:27. > :43:36.UMPIRE: Miss Hingis, Mrs Mirza, challenging the call. We are right

:43:37. > :43:46.online with that. It felt like it might be out. That has to be two

:43:47. > :44:02.again! There is no way that the call affected the shot. That is exactly

:44:03. > :44:12.the point from Martina. We have to win 1.3 times. This rule has to be

:44:13. > :44:19.looked at. -- we have to win one point com three times.

:44:20. > :45:12.With respect to Babos and Shvedova, that is fair enough.

:45:13. > :45:27.Andrew, I think we have a match on here. She has got to try to get her

:45:28. > :45:30.serve to the backhand side of Mirza. She has been going to that forehand

:45:31. > :45:44.side, that goes back into her weakness.

:45:45. > :45:56.UMPIRE: New balls, please. Is it the 5-2 number, Andrew? Whatever it is,

:45:57. > :46:03.it is going to be tight. When Babos comes to serve for it, if they could

:46:04. > :46:12.just hold on, the 5-4 game will be an interesting one. They feel like

:46:13. > :46:16.they have a chance here. They relaxed a little after Martina's

:46:17. > :46:18.very easy service game to love finished with that ace. Now they

:46:19. > :47:05.have the return game. That is normally a gift for Hingis.

:47:06. > :47:09.Wimbledon singles champion in 1997 as a 16-year-old. She took on Yana

:47:10. > :47:33.Novotna. -- Jana. You hit it at me like that, that is

:47:34. > :47:38.what you will get back! I thought she handled that pretty well. A lot

:47:39. > :48:34.of players would have got a bit upset at that.

:48:35. > :48:59.One-way traffic in the last ten minutes or so, it was 5-1 just a

:49:00. > :49:07.moment ago, and don't think for a minute that Babos and Shvedova are

:49:08. > :49:11.not thinking about it, as Mirza and Hingis have a reputation of being a

:49:12. > :49:17.team who don't go away easily. The first couple of points will be huge,

:49:18. > :49:22.12-3 the last 15 points. And most of those come off the racket of Martina

:49:23. > :49:26.Hingis, you just notice the change, the positivity, the way she has

:49:27. > :49:32.wanted to put herself in every situation, every point, she is

:49:33. > :49:38.trying to draw the ball to her racket, and she is going a terrific

:49:39. > :49:41.job. She was overextending herself in the first set, but now she is

:49:42. > :49:53.making the right move at the right time. It is beautiful to watch. One

:49:54. > :49:57.of my favourite matches of all time here was in 1996, she won the

:49:58. > :50:01.doubles here is a 15-year-old. Is there more magic left in this match,

:50:02. > :50:09.or is this the final game? Serving for a second time, Shvedova and

:50:10. > :50:30.Babos. Kazakhstan and Hungary partnership, the fifth seeds.

:50:31. > :50:35.Nice to his shot like that, get some nerves out, feeling a little anxiety

:50:36. > :50:57.right now, no doubt. Oh, that was an absolute gift.

:50:58. > :51:05.Hingis went in. Mirza stayed back. And of course, the attack went to

:51:06. > :51:09.the player at the back of the court, and that wasn't ever in with a

:51:10. > :51:14.chance. Two big first serves to begin this game.

:51:15. > :51:24.This is a demonstration in how to serve out.

:51:25. > :51:28.What a wonderful game she is playing, the youngest on this court,

:51:29. > :51:42.just 23. What a game!

:51:43. > :51:48.UMPIRE: Game, set and match. We said goodbye to the number one seeds, the

:51:49. > :52:05.number one is advanced to the semifinal,. An intriguing match.

:52:06. > :52:12.What an intriguing finish. Four Street massive first serves. So nice

:52:13. > :52:16.to see women's doubles played, unlike the men, which has become

:52:17. > :52:24.really rather clinical and so explosive, women's doubles there is

:52:25. > :52:33.much more craft, guile, spin, lobs. Thoroughly enjoyable. A

:52:34. > :52:35.disappointing moment for Mirza and Hingis, they just couldn't find

:52:36. > :52:42.their style, just too many errors and it was rather odd to witness

:52:43. > :52:46.that. And then as we saw, the last three games, they did start to

:52:47. > :52:53.control, but what a brave and terrific finish their from Timea

:52:54. > :52:59.Babos, she just took on her own ability to close out matches. That

:53:00. > :53:02.was a phenomenal way to close out the match, they are a massive threat

:53:03. > :53:09.in the drawer. I suppose Venus and Serena Williams, they are still in

:53:10. > :53:15.as well, but nice to see someone in's doubles. The number one seeds

:53:16. > :53:21.are out on a day when there is so much interesting tennis all around

:53:22. > :53:25.the grounds, not just the women's semifinals, but also some

:53:26. > :53:28.wheelchairs singles, some junior singles and mixed as well, as the

:53:29. > :53:37.draw continues to recover from a wet first week.

:53:38. > :53:44.Just taking a moment here on Court Number One to sign a few autographs

:53:45. > :53:47.and take a little bit of time. It really doesn't take much effort, but

:53:48. > :53:55.it was memorable. Who was the first autograph you ever got? You can't

:53:56. > :53:59.remember! I can't. It is quite interesting. Mine was a blue coated

:54:00. > :54:06.pontoons holiday camp, to wasn't really a sports star. But then Ilie

:54:07. > :54:10.Nastase gave me his autograph after I watched him on court to, I think I

:54:11. > :54:21.still have it. I can't throw it away! Still in love with him. Shore.

:54:22. > :54:28.Who is your favourite to win this? It is hard to go past the Williams

:54:29. > :54:31.sisters, isn't it? Three times gold medallists, the Williams sisters,

:54:32. > :54:40.incredible. What a match here for a boss and Shvedova, they really owned

:54:41. > :54:43.it. 65% first serve there, returns in play, that is high-quality, but

:54:44. > :54:48.really just the power at which they were able to maintain today, they

:54:49. > :54:52.were solid from the net, high percentage of first serves, I really

:54:53. > :54:57.felt they came out here and it was there a day. Four out of four on

:54:58. > :55:01.break points, 100%. You have to take your chances when they present

:55:02. > :55:07.themselves, and that is what they did.

:55:08. > :55:14.And this is the way they closed it out, it is the fourth first serve in

:55:15. > :55:21.a row from Timea Babos, who had seen her partner, Shvedova, struggle when

:55:22. > :55:26.she served for it at 5-2. But if you are going to knock in first serves

:55:27. > :55:29.at well over 100 mph four times in a row, you are playing percentages,

:55:30. > :55:38.and she should be proud of herself for that. Still in the Mixed Doubles

:55:39. > :55:50.as well, Shvedova, at the top of the draw. They beat Anna Smith and Neal

:55:51. > :55:55.Skupski who had beaten Ivan Dodig. Day ten of Wimbledon, it is actually

:55:56. > :55:59.day 11 because of people's Sunday that the poor weather in the first

:56:00. > :56:05.week forced upon us, some junior doubles taking place, and some

:56:06. > :56:09.seniors as well. Mansour Bahrami is playing, and the women's semifinals

:56:10. > :56:12.are on Centre Court. As you walk up those stairs past the Centre Court

:56:13. > :56:17.changing rooms on the right-hand side, the members area there, and

:56:18. > :56:21.heading out to some of the courts where the wheelchair singles is

:56:22. > :56:24.taking place for the first time. There is something for everybody,

:56:25. > :56:29.including those on Henman Hill and around, great to see some sunshine,

:56:30. > :56:34.get away from Australia, come here and get yourself a nice tan. That is

:56:35. > :56:38.exactly right. I never doubted that the weather would arrive. It might

:56:39. > :56:42.be a little late. It is just so nice that these poor people sitting on

:56:43. > :56:52.the grass that they have got a nice, dry spot to sit on for the first

:56:53. > :56:55.time. Men's Singles semifinals tomorrow, many people expecting a

:56:56. > :57:00.Federer versus Murray final on Sunday. That would certainly be a

:57:01. > :57:03.ratings winner, but it was certainly rock'n'roll last night, and we look

:57:04. > :57:08.forward to the Men's Singles semifinal. You can go over into that

:57:09. > :57:12.capability Brown designed lake over there, the whole thing used to be

:57:13. > :57:15.the garden to one of the big houses up in Wimbledon Village, get

:57:16. > :57:21.yourself one of those boats. You probably already know how to do

:57:22. > :57:27.that? I am class! I do live on the water in Sydney. Get yourself to a

:57:28. > :57:35.big European city like this. Let's head up north and east, up into the

:57:36. > :57:40.City of London there. Fantastic. I was there earlier this morning, so

:57:41. > :57:43.busy, so nice to come down and get a little bit of tranquillity here, and

:57:44. > :57:47.watch some great tennis. There is plenty more of it to come. Men's

:57:48. > :57:57.Doubles semifinals on the way on Court Number One. Julien Benneteau

:57:58. > :58:03.and Roger-Vasselin are in action, so good players around. Plenty more

:58:04. > :58:07.tennis to come, enjoy it. Louise, thank you very much indeed. Shvedova

:58:08. > :58:14.and Babos in merging into the semifinals of the women's doubles.

:58:15. > :58:18.SUE BARKER: The defending champions going out on Court Number One in the

:58:19. > :58:23.women's doubles. We can take you to another Ladies' Doubles which is

:58:24. > :58:30.taking place on Court Number Two. Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova

:58:31. > :58:37.up against Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic. Let's join our

:58:38. > :58:58.commentators, Liz Smiley and Barry Davies.

:58:59. > :59:09.LIZ SMILIE: break point goes begging there, not quite getting to the

:59:10. > :59:13.ball, but they have done a good job in this match so far, Goerges and

:59:14. > :59:32.Pliskova. Excellent second serve there, just

:59:33. > :59:34.catching Pliskova a little by surprise. And landed right on the

:59:35. > :00:16.line. One more chance. And so the double break comes. And

:00:17. > :00:21.the number two seeds in deep, deep trouble. Solid point from Goerges

:00:22. > :02:30.there on the back of the court. Well, they got one of the breaks

:02:31. > :03:01.back. Can they find their way back into

:03:02. > :03:10.this match? Obviously, you would have thought that having been broken

:03:11. > :03:14.twice, and it was not so much that they broke one back, it was the

:03:15. > :03:22.opponents making mistakes. Compare for me the ladies and the men's.

:03:23. > :03:26.There are men's doubles players who turn to that from their singles game

:03:27. > :03:31.and play it seriously, that's their career. For it does not seem to

:03:32. > :03:36.happen in the women's? It does, actually. It is just that it has

:03:37. > :03:39.been happening for longer in men's tennis, that you can have a career

:03:40. > :03:45.and just play doubles. If you're good enough, you can make a very

:03:46. > :03:51.good living just out of playing doubles, either men's or women's. We

:03:52. > :03:59.have got men here, 37, 38 years of age. Yes, and very entertaining. We

:04:00. > :04:13.saw match a couple of days ago, with the Bryan brothers. That was on

:04:14. > :04:53.Centre Court. It is a good serve by Mladenovic, right at the body.

:04:54. > :04:59.Come on, hand it back! They'd do a great job here, the ball kids. And

:05:00. > :05:32.they are very quick. Very efficient. Well, the second serve speed was

:05:33. > :05:34.just 70mph from Mladenovic, putting her under pressure immediately,

:05:35. > :05:41.Goerges just hammering the crosscourt. She's struggled in her

:05:42. > :05:43.last service game, Mladenovic, it went on for a long time and she

:05:44. > :06:16.eventually lost it. Nine deuces. Just a bit too much court for

:06:17. > :06:19.Goerges to cover. This next one here from Goerges, that's the one which

:06:20. > :06:21.created the difficulty for her Cheryshev just couldn't cover the

:06:22. > :06:51.next one that came. Well, Pliskova, she shipped for it.

:06:52. > :06:55.And then she realised that she could not quite get to it. Garcia was

:06:56. > :07:01.equal to the task. Excuse me, Goerges was equal to the task. She

:07:02. > :07:05.followed up behind her. Good cover there from Goerges. Puts it back in

:07:06. > :07:38.the melting pot. So, after starting well in this

:07:39. > :07:46.service game, Mladenovic and her partner now face match point.

:07:47. > :07:59.Goerges, poised to find the return she's looking for.

:08:00. > :08:08.Oh, but she didn't find it! Wow! That second serve was very, very

:08:09. > :08:14.slow. As a matter-of-fact, it was so slow that it didn't even register on

:08:15. > :08:18.the serve speed gun. You can see it over her shoulder there. Goerges

:08:19. > :08:50.just not able to take advantage of it. That's a better one.

:08:51. > :09:22.That's a good interception by Garcia.

:09:23. > :09:45.That is a good way to start the game for Julia Goodison. -- for Julia

:09:46. > :10:01.Goerges. That's the serve that has been so

:10:02. > :10:03.effective for her, Goerges, that one up the middle to Garcia's forehand.

:10:04. > :10:42.It drew the error again. They got all caught up Tom Pliskova

:10:43. > :10:49.and Goerges. They ended up right near each other. They very nearly

:10:50. > :10:52.collided! Mladenovic had the presence of mind not to pay any

:10:53. > :10:55.attention to that and hit the shot up the line. Hanging in there, the

:10:56. > :11:13.number two seeds. Oh, that's a great pick-up from

:11:14. > :11:20.Goerges! Garcia was onto that return. She crushed a forehand. Just

:11:21. > :11:25.centimetres from the line, and Goerges did really well. Second

:11:26. > :11:48.match point. Oh! How simply won! So they have

:11:49. > :11:52.done it again. They beat them in the Australian Open in the last 16. And

:11:53. > :12:02.now they have beaten the highest seeded partnership remaining here at

:12:03. > :12:10.Wimbledon, in the quarterfinals. Performance Goerges and Pliskova.

:12:11. > :12:18.Remember, they were just the number eight seed playing against the

:12:19. > :12:21.number two seeds. SUE BARKER: Another surprise in the

:12:22. > :12:27.ladies doubles championship. They go through to the semifinals to await

:12:28. > :12:34.the winner of the game between the Williams sisters and their

:12:35. > :12:38.opponents. I wonder if the will have recovered from what happened to her

:12:39. > :12:45.on Centre Court earlier today. -- if Vesnina. It was Serena who took just

:12:46. > :12:52.49 minutes to dispatch Vesnina. It was a wonderful serving display from

:12:53. > :12:57.Serena. But Vesnina was totally overawed by her opponent and the

:12:58. > :13:03.occasion, and never played her best. Hopefully she will be better in the

:13:04. > :13:06.doubles match today. These two, good friends, a warm handshake at the

:13:07. > :13:12.end. It is Serena who goes through to the final once again. So, Serena,

:13:13. > :13:18.safely through. What about her sister Venus? She is encore at the

:13:19. > :13:22.moment and is down a break of serve. Angelique Kerber, from Germany, the

:13:23. > :13:30.Australian Open champion, has just opened Venus's serve. That is live

:13:31. > :13:36.on BBC One. Here on BBC Two, we're going to go over to Court No. 1 for

:13:37. > :13:42.a semifinal in the men's doubles. It is Julien Benneteau and Eduard

:13:43. > :13:48.Roger, but. They put out Jamie Murray and his partner yesterday's.

:13:49. > :13:57.Let's enjoy this match with John Lloyd and Mark Petchey.

:13:58. > :14:05.MARK PETCHEY: Welcome to Court No. 1, and what promises to be a

:14:06. > :14:21.attractive men's semifinal in the doubles. Julien

:14:22. > :14:28.Benneteau and Roger-Vasselin am a winners of the French Open in 2014.

:14:29. > :14:49.They have had an epic route through to get here to the semifinals.

:14:50. > :14:56.The other pairing have got through to hear without dropping a set so

:14:57. > :15:06.far. They will be the much fresher pair. The American and the South

:15:07. > :15:11.African. The American, the only man on the court who has singles titles

:15:12. > :15:17.to his name. Julien Benneteau, the unlucky tag of making ten ATP

:15:18. > :15:19.singles finals and yet to win one. They have made a habit of winning

:15:20. > :15:32.here in spectacular fashion. Third round here this year, the

:15:33. > :15:41.French team were down a couple of match points before winning in the

:15:42. > :15:45.fifth set. The Argentinian umpire. And then the French team breaking

:15:46. > :15:50.British hearts, as Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares valiantly went down

:15:51. > :16:02.10-8 in the fifth, having trailed by a couple of sets. They then won

:16:03. > :16:03.third 13-11, and the fourth, but could not quite get themselves

:16:04. > :16:21.through to the last four. Do you think, John, that the five

:16:22. > :16:23.setters that this French team have had will have any bearing on this

:16:24. > :16:30.match? JOHN LLOYD: Well, they are used to

:16:31. > :16:34.playing a lot of tennis, but there have been a couple of very tight

:16:35. > :16:37.matches mentally. On the physical side it might have an effective the

:16:38. > :16:47.match goes on a decent amount of time. Certainly the American-South

:16:48. > :16:48.African pairing have had a relatively easy route through to the

:16:49. > :17:09.semifinals. More than a touch of the Pete

:17:10. > :17:13.Sampras. I was going to say, he has modelled his game on Pete Sampras.

:17:14. > :17:17.You can see that with the service motion, and the forehand as well.

:17:18. > :17:31.Not quite as good as Pete Sampras, and exactly the same! -- but exactly

:17:32. > :17:43.the same! One of the hardest working players out on tour.

:17:44. > :18:02.Had a look down the court just to see if Roger-Vasselin was making

:18:03. > :18:24.inroads to the net. Surprised he did not come in, actually.

:18:25. > :18:32.He is the playmaker, Julien Benneteau. He blows a bit hot and

:18:33. > :18:38.cold on returns. . But when he gets hot, he is almost unplayable. He got

:18:39. > :18:40.a couple of on the sending singles court against Roger Federer as well

:18:41. > :19:06.- a tribute to his class. The 6ft 4 American Rajiv Ram just

:19:07. > :19:14.getting settled, holding onto his serve, in these early stages. He

:19:15. > :19:17.will be off to Newport to try to defend his title there. For Julien

:19:18. > :19:21.Benneteau, it has been nice to have a season back on the court. He spent

:19:22. > :19:30.eight months last year recovering from surgery from a groin injury.

:19:31. > :19:38.Currently ranked on the singles court at 547. Back inside the

:19:39. > :19:42.world's top 50 in doubles, after this run to the semifinals. He has

:19:43. > :19:51.been as high as number five in the world. Roger-Vasselin, who will be

:19:52. > :19:53.serving here, has been June six in the world, and according to live

:19:54. > :20:06.rankings, which you can go and look up, Klaasen will be breaking into

:20:07. > :20:33.the top ten next week as well. It looked like Raven Klaasen did not

:20:34. > :21:18.really play that serve. Was going to appeal, but decided not to.

:21:19. > :21:27.Would serving from the 6ft to Frenchman, now 32 years of age. His

:21:28. > :21:30.father played as well, got through to the semifinals of the French

:21:31. > :21:48.Open, losing to Yannick Noah back in 1983. Wow! That was no holding back

:21:49. > :21:50.on that return! Yes, Roger-Vasselin, his father beat Jimmy Connors there

:21:51. > :21:56.in the quarterfinals. Ireland are that much, it was very heavy

:21:57. > :21:59.conditions, and Roger-Vasselin hit a lot of sliced balls to the forehand

:22:00. > :22:03.of Jimmy Connors and eventually wore him down. The French crowd went

:22:04. > :22:15.absolutely nuts - I remember that much.

:22:16. > :22:26.-- that match. Short backswing for Raven Klaasen, he was able to leave

:22:27. > :22:38.it late enough to see what Benneteau was going to do.

:22:39. > :23:08.He is a quick thinking and quick moving player, Raven Klaasen.

:23:09. > :24:02.No messing around with that volley. He does not really want the ball to

:24:03. > :24:33.go there. He can just swing at it, no problem.

:24:34. > :24:41.The tallest man on the court, Rajiv Ram, taking that one comfortably out

:24:42. > :25:02.of the air. The smallest man on the court, at 5ft 11ins, Klaasen.

:25:03. > :25:10.JOHN LLOYD: They have settled pretty well, Klaasen and Rajiv Ram. It is

:25:11. > :25:15.only early days, but coming out here in a Grand Slam after that big win

:25:16. > :25:18.against the Bryan brothers. But still, this is certainly the biggest

:25:19. > :25:22.match of their career. Klaasen in particular, he made inroads on the

:25:23. > :25:27.circuit in doubles rankings pretty late in his career. He has moved up

:25:28. > :25:33.the list not at a fast pace, but every year moving up, and this has

:25:34. > :25:38.been his big breakthrough year. They seem to like the atmosphere. I think

:25:39. > :25:42.that win against the Bryan brothers - admittedly not the force they once

:25:43. > :25:46.were, but still the name pair - when you beat them in the draw, you feel

:25:47. > :25:50.like you have got a chance to win the event. And they have not dropped

:25:51. > :25:56.a set yet in the Championships. That's impressive.

:25:57. > :26:03.MARK PETCHEY: Of course, Klaasen, runner-up in Australia back in 2014

:26:04. > :26:11.with his partner, ended up becoming Leander Paes' 99th partner in 2015,

:26:12. > :26:17.just before Wimbledon. Rajiv Ram, semifinalist at the US Open in

:26:18. > :26:27.doubles with Scotland's ski, who he played with for a number of years.

:26:28. > :26:32.-- with Scott Lipski. And of course, these two have won Halle on the

:26:33. > :26:34.doubles court as well. In just their second tournament together last

:26:35. > :26:48.year, they won Halle. Wimbledon is the special one for

:26:49. > :26:52.them. It's the one where they still play five sets, it's the one where I

:26:53. > :26:58.think the players feel like they are treated like a player. The other

:26:59. > :27:06.events, they are sort of shot on the back courts, best-of-three sets, no

:27:07. > :27:11.ads. The US Open, I think the finals is at 11 o'clock morning -- in the

:27:12. > :27:34.morning on a Friday and there is no-one in the stands.

:27:35. > :27:40.That is a good return. He is finding that forehand sweetly out of the

:27:41. > :27:46.middle of the racket so far here, Rajiv Ram. That win over the Bryan

:27:47. > :27:49.brothers was the third of the year against the great American pairing.

:27:50. > :27:59.They beat them in Australia in the round of 16 before losing to Mars

:28:00. > :28:07.and Bruno Soares. They also beat them in error on the way to the

:28:08. > :28:09.title there. It underlines the quality from the South

:28:10. > :28:24.African-American pairing. He is in your world tennis team,

:28:25. > :28:32.isn't he, the South African? Yes, he is. Now he's jumped up, he will

:28:33. > :28:49.probably be wanting a bonus payment. Working with you IS a bonus, John!

:28:50. > :28:58.Roger-Vasselin Mahut is also back in the world's top ten in doubles,

:28:59. > :29:02.courtesy of his run here. He will be happy with the way that he has just

:29:03. > :29:06.mopped up that service game for his partner. You were talking about

:29:07. > :29:11.Klaasen in particular coming late to it. Was only 2012 when he finally

:29:12. > :29:20.finished inside the world's top hundred in doubles. He finished 2013

:29:21. > :29:27.at 44. Equal 20th in 2014. And on his own at the same ranking in 2015.

:29:28. > :29:44.He moved to sue there, Klaasen. It is all about the timing and when you

:29:45. > :29:47.cross. You have got to time it exactly right. Just as the ball is

:29:48. > :29:51.coming off the strings, you move. A fraction too soon, and he can direct

:29:52. > :30:12.it to where you are not any more. That's what he is so good at,

:30:13. > :30:18.Benneteau, when he gets his range, firing it alone, almost flat, back

:30:19. > :30:20.to the incoming server. It is so difficult to control, because you

:30:21. > :30:25.have got to focus so hard on that all coming over the net, so that you

:30:26. > :30:26.cannot really see out of your peripheral vision what his partner

:30:27. > :30:50.is doing. IM told you get more nervous as you

:30:51. > :30:55.get older, even at this standard players who played into their mid

:30:56. > :31:06.30s spoke about that. APPLAUSE

:31:07. > :31:12.She really dealt with that. Her signature shot. Opening up the point

:31:13. > :31:47.with that shot. APPLAUSE

:31:48. > :32:32.A classy way to get out of that situation.

:32:33. > :32:42.It is nice to see the sun out in all its glory. A nice and warm day. Not

:32:43. > :32:46.speaking to each other... Silence, across the country. But as you can

:32:47. > :32:55.see the hats are out and it is pretty humid as well. So much more

:32:56. > :33:04.enjoyable for the fans to sit there and relax and soak up, not just the

:33:05. > :33:10.sun but the wonderful fast-paced doubles. Again probably 75% of his

:33:11. > :33:17.audience here only play doubles. They are very keen to see angles,

:33:18. > :33:23.neck played, how the top players played, how they move, and I am sure

:33:24. > :33:26.with those sorts of stances, the Australians... I wouldn't like to be

:33:27. > :34:01.doing that either. That is a great second serve. You

:34:02. > :34:06.can see the amount of moving the do in doubles these days. The first

:34:07. > :34:09.game when they return, why not hit every ball straight down the line?

:34:10. > :34:12.Just get them out of that rhythm. You will probably make two winners

:34:13. > :34:25.because they cross almost every ball.

:34:26. > :34:50.That is not easy, trying to hit a drop volley-mac with a PC forehand

:34:51. > :34:57.like that. -- dropped volley with a pacy forehand. That is twice,

:34:58. > :35:03.ricocheted off the net. APPLAUSE

:35:04. > :35:15.That was behind him when he hit that! On this forehand, Ram is

:35:16. > :35:22.really returning well and it looked like it was going to be Ram's point

:35:23. > :35:31.air. Excellent hands. He was a little unlucky there, Klaasen, was

:35:32. > :35:41.in the? But because he was behind Roger-Vasselin he had no option but

:35:42. > :35:45.to flick it down the line. Ram is the one who settled the best in the

:35:46. > :35:53.return of serve department and Klaasen is just finding his way at

:35:54. > :35:55.the moment. If you get out of this game without getting hit, it is a

:35:56. > :36:00.miracle. LAUGHTER

:36:01. > :36:07.. APPLAUSE

:36:08. > :36:18.That would have been good even if it had been a first serve, into the

:36:19. > :36:22.strength of Ram and it beat him I think the fact they are going to

:36:23. > :36:27.that formation again is just another indicator that they recognise Ram's

:36:28. > :36:41.start in this match. The bigger of the shots, more consistent.

:36:42. > :36:52.Klaasen is not the biggest server, but he is extremely quick into the

:36:53. > :36:56.net behind his delivery. A lot of his volleys you will see are three

:36:57. > :37:00.or four Max the inside the service box. So quick. The service action

:37:01. > :37:12.propelled him into the court and he has a good couple of steps

:37:13. > :37:21.afterwards -- four steps and save the service box.

:37:22. > :37:24.has a good couple of steps afterwards -- four steps inside

:37:25. > :37:41.It is not dissimilar to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's, but that left him, with

:37:42. > :37:42.the back of the ball from that situation, and -- situation that

:37:43. > :38:24.Benneteau found himself in. APPLAUSE

:38:25. > :38:30.Doing extremely well there are just to cover Ram, just couldn't quite

:38:31. > :38:39.get the first one. It was a late call as well. As the ball has

:38:40. > :38:51.already passed him. LAUGHTER

:38:52. > :38:57.But you try. Beautiful return. He had no chance to get that one back,

:38:58. > :39:19.off the backhand, inside the line, too good.

:39:20. > :39:30.He has a lively arm, 124. A couple of returns that were world-class on

:39:31. > :39:34.the doubles court from the French team here, look at this angle he

:39:35. > :39:41.creates. You can't do a lot there if you are the partner as well, from

:39:42. > :39:45.Ram's point of view. A lot of court he could potentially go to, using

:39:46. > :40:04.the angles. He snapped off a very cute one. -- acute. Advantage,

:40:05. > :40:06.Klaasen. You certainly could say that Ram, he has a lot of authority,

:40:07. > :40:33.when he says" you" or" yours goes -- "yours".

:40:34. > :40:46.LAUGHTER Maybe he should really say, "How

:40:47. > :40:55.about you?" . Three stretched volleys, tired out your!

:40:56. > :41:11.Three stretched volleys, tired out here!

:41:12. > :41:26.Roger-Vasselin, just a little look out to sea. The obviously didn't

:41:27. > :41:32.hear too much from his end -- to see. Two double faults. Starting to

:41:33. > :41:36.put a bit of pressure on the second serve and that is forcing

:41:37. > :41:38.Roger-Vasselin to go for a bigger serve than he is used to. Good

:41:39. > :42:07.returning from the French team. I am not sure if he meant that to be

:42:08. > :42:12.that short, Ram, on that volley. It ended up to be a good drop shot, a

:42:13. > :42:27.good drop volley. Again, good returning, though. Tunisia is really

:42:28. > :42:32.getting hold of these returns no. -- now. What a serve. From where he was

:42:33. > :42:38.standing it looked almost impossible to get that angle. And also, how did

:42:39. > :42:42.he get it past Ram's head? He just missed. Looking at where he was

:42:43. > :42:48.standing, I thought he couldn't possibly go for a wide one, and it

:42:49. > :42:58.whistled past his ear. If you were serving to me, I would have been

:42:59. > :43:02.looking the other way! New balls, please. A lot of different looks

:43:03. > :43:15.there with the movement at the net for the French team. Moving the

:43:16. > :43:22.serve around exceptionally well. They will be a little buoyed up, the

:43:23. > :43:26.fact they got close, getting their teeth into the returns. They could

:43:27. > :43:36.almost be unplayable for Kabul. But one of the great service of the

:43:37. > :43:41.match so far -- unplayable for a couple. Yes, it's just whistled past

:43:42. > :43:46.his ear. After a couple of double faults. And you can see he has a

:43:47. > :43:49.nice motion, just how he or she is. He reaches up, gets around the

:43:50. > :43:57.outside, and it just whistled past, and look at that angle he hit there.

:43:58. > :44:03.Gorgeous serve. Lovely rotation, look at the back almost parallel to

:44:04. > :44:09.the baseline there. That is Federer -esque from him. He needed that one

:44:10. > :44:12.there. Confidence can go after a couple of double faults. Got through

:44:13. > :44:16.that game, weathered the storm a little bit, and now there can be

:44:17. > :44:20.some confidence from that service game. His server seems to be at the

:44:21. > :44:26.moment the most vulnerable of the four. He backs it up well with such

:44:27. > :45:38.a good first volley. He liked that one. He makes the

:45:39. > :45:51.early move, knows where it is coming. Great footwork. It is quite

:45:52. > :45:58.the flat, slicy second serve, Tunisia, with pace. Boy, he was

:45:59. > :46:09.quick there, Klaasen. Superb anticipation. -- slicy, with pace.

:46:10. > :46:20.How quick things can turn around in Men's Doubles. Such a low return.

:46:21. > :46:32.Didn't anticipate the drop volley was coming.

:46:33. > :47:04.-- Benneteau exceptionally well there.

:47:05. > :47:12.One of Ram's slate Nick Ealey skew is his speed around the court, not

:47:13. > :47:50.the quickest player there. -- one of his slight Achilles heels.

:47:51. > :48:05.APPLAUSE Just couldn't quite get it deep

:48:06. > :48:10.enough, Klaasen. That was a much tougher one. Ram really tried to do

:48:11. > :48:15.the best he could, but it was rock solid overhead. Conservative, but

:48:16. > :48:26.they knew they were on top of the rally.

:48:27. > :49:06.Solid again, good return. It looks like he's trying to go quite a bit

:49:07. > :49:09.to the volley of Klaasen on the right-hand side. Klaasen is making

:49:10. > :49:19.some nice little moves to give himself room the return.

:49:20. > :49:42.He has landed it. It had to be on the line because Roger-Vasselin had

:49:43. > :49:51.made the move and pretty much had the rest of the court to be able to

:49:52. > :49:52.cover whatever Ram hit, but the perfect backhand return. Can they

:49:53. > :50:17.capitalise? Great serve. Arguably his most

:50:18. > :50:22.comfortable one, not that he doesn't have a pretty good serve outweighed,

:50:23. > :50:25.Benneteau, but there is a little more curve on it than most players

:50:26. > :50:30.and because of that the one on the key is probably the ones on the big

:50:31. > :50:50.points he will hit nine times out of ten -- out wide.

:50:51. > :50:58.With so much movement out here, is it a case in many ways of just

:50:59. > :51:03.putting your spot all the time? I think so, it is difficult and is bit

:51:04. > :51:07.when you're crossing. If you are going to go over the line or a

:51:08. > :51:23.crosscourt and just hate it. I don't think you have time. -- hit it. We

:51:24. > :51:27.are speaking second serve. Of course, otherwise you have a little

:51:28. > :51:32.more time. He got a lot more bones on that serve. That was above his

:51:33. > :51:40.shoulders and it is just that much tougher to control at times --

:51:41. > :51:43.bounce. You speak a lot about length on the court but sometimes on a

:51:44. > :51:56.second serve if you can just get it in short and get it to lift off the

:51:57. > :53:29.court it is a pretty good serve as well.

:53:30. > :53:46.APPLAUSE Klaasen and Ram lead, five games to

:53:47. > :53:59.four. He could not have wished to deliver a more perfect service game

:54:00. > :54:02.there, Rajeev Ram. Looking at these doubles, in the Slam, vaguely normal

:54:03. > :54:11.doubles, so to speak, but the rest of the year they play no when Ken

:54:12. > :54:27.is. Sudden death in these service games. What do you think? -- they

:54:28. > :54:30.play no end tennis. The matches are over in an hour, they come to

:54:31. > :54:35.Wimbledon and you can get matches that go for four hours. It is a big

:54:36. > :54:39.difference. I know it is doubles, not singles, but still. Spending the

:54:40. > :54:43.whole year focusing just for one hour, one hour and 20 minutes, then

:54:44. > :54:46.it comes into four hours, and you can see how their concentration camp

:54:47. > :54:57.go. Wobbled and is the only one that does this. I suppose they enjoy it

:54:58. > :55:03.-- can go. The other ones are just sudden death overtime -- Wimbledon

:55:04. > :55:07.is the only one that does this. They enjoy being out here, they love the

:55:08. > :55:09.game, love being out here for as long as possible. It is a real treat

:55:10. > :55:42.for them, as you say. What an angle! He has done that a

:55:43. > :55:55.few times in the second serve, hasn't he? 90 mph is good pace on

:55:56. > :55:58.the second serve. For Roger-Vasselin they have both come on his second

:55:59. > :56:13.serve. It is such a difference, though, in

:56:14. > :56:18.ten years of doubles, used to players with chip returns, not all

:56:19. > :56:27.the time but quite often. Very rarely do you see that type of

:56:28. > :56:36.return any more. It is all about taking chances, hitting over the

:56:37. > :56:40.ball. The lob is still a good shot, though, with the about of movement

:56:41. > :56:44.areas. Yes, and with hanging over the neck, if you time it right, and

:56:45. > :57:01.Jamie Murray is about the best in that regard -- over the net.

:57:02. > :57:16.Klaasen and Klaasen have done better in this match already than they did

:57:17. > :57:23.in previous meetings between these teams, last year in Rome on the

:57:24. > :57:29.clay. Benneteau and Roger-Vasselin won that one, so they already have

:57:30. > :57:32.more points on the board. You can see how from that position

:57:33. > :57:38.Roger-Vasselin is expecting the one down the tea to the two tables

:57:39. > :57:41.neutralise that angle he has at his disposal. They are trying to narrow

:57:42. > :57:43.the court with that serve but then he put it out wide and he just

:57:44. > :59:33.cannot The danger is with that Tunisia

:59:34. > :59:42.backhand, you have to be very alert and move very quickly -- that

:59:43. > :59:45.Benneteau backhand. Those Ram's duty there was to close the gap but

:59:46. > :59:47.otherwise you leave space. If you time it a bit wrong you can

:59:48. > :00:42.obviously see this He just lost his bearings a little

:00:43. > :00:46.bit and because he was so focussed on where the ball was, he didn't

:00:47. > :00:51.really have a great understanding of where Roger-Vasselin had moved to.

:00:52. > :00:59.He tried to cut it a little too close to the line across court. Here

:01:00. > :01:10.they are with Ram in the I position here. Where will Klaasen go? Will he

:01:11. > :01:19.go back out wide? A terrific return. Roger-Vasselin stayed home down The

:01:20. > :01:22.T and he got his reward. A good educated guess from the Frenchman

:01:23. > :01:41.and he gives his partner a chance here.

:01:42. > :01:53.Just a little tentative with the forehand from Klaasen. It gave

:01:54. > :01:57.Benneteau time. Although he didn't rip it there,

:01:58. > :02:02.Julien Benneteau, he picked the right man who just for the first

:02:03. > :02:08.time in the opening set just looked a little fragile. Yes, they were

:02:09. > :02:13.good ground strokes with a lot of spin and dipping, shots, these days

:02:14. > :02:19.the volley has to be deep otherwise the power that the baseline can hit

:02:20. > :02:22.with the ground strokes, two unfortunate errors in a row. Good

:02:23. > :02:52.pressing by the French team. Benneteau's brother is helping him

:02:53. > :02:56.out coaching wise at the moment. He split with his coach back in October

:02:57. > :02:58.2015 partly I'm sure because of the lack of match play and because of

:02:59. > :03:48.the surgery. Doing the basics well after getting

:03:49. > :04:12.that break. We have seen a couple of really nice

:04:13. > :04:17.backhands from Ram off that serve down The T, but it is not easy to

:04:18. > :04:20.keep producing and you wonder whether you're going to get the

:04:21. > :04:28.opponent crossing on the net. He tried to find a return there down

:04:29. > :04:48.the line, but hasn't picked it. And... The 2014 champions are a set

:04:49. > :04:52.closer to a final here at Wimbledon. It is the first set they've lost

:04:53. > :05:01.this championship Klaasen and Ram and you look back to that game where

:05:02. > :05:06.they had 0-40, sorry on Benneteau's serve and Klaasen actually made a

:05:07. > :05:10.very good forehand return and a good half-volley from Benneteau, but it

:05:11. > :05:13.was a makeable forehand by Klaasen which he missed by a foot and it

:05:14. > :05:17.would have been a clean winner and that would have been the break. So

:05:18. > :05:28.it is just small points here that make the difference. The stats

:05:29. > :05:34.there, Benneteau and Roger-Vasselin strong on the service sets. Winning

:05:35. > :05:39.80% on their second serves which is remarkable statistics, but there is

:05:40. > :05:44.the big one, the break points, Klaasen and Ram had four and didn't

:05:45. > :05:53.convert. Other than that, they have got to take the chances and they had

:05:54. > :05:57.that 0-40 and didn't take one of the break points. It is the first set

:05:58. > :06:01.they've lost in the Championships. We have got a couple from France who

:06:02. > :06:05.are pretty battle hardened in terms of the big points they have had to

:06:06. > :06:08.play going down the stretch in the last couple of matches, so they will

:06:09. > :06:17.be somewhat relieved that they managed to get that under their

:06:18. > :06:22.belt. It is a good match though. It is a good standard. The crowd are

:06:23. > :06:26.enjoying it. There has been a few very good rallies. Some classy

:06:27. > :06:33.tennis out here. Well, I think it is not a bad match. Sometimes you get

:06:34. > :06:38.doubles, the serves are so big, you get matches where you just drift in

:06:39. > :06:44.and there is no returns going back and it is a little bit one-paced.

:06:45. > :06:49.The serves are good serves, but nothing where there are ridiculous

:06:50. > :07:14.serves, we are seeing some good first volleys.

:07:15. > :07:21.These teams are synchronised as well, these days, compared to your

:07:22. > :07:25.day, the need for the bathroom break at the same time as each other! I

:07:26. > :07:32.didn't know what that was. We weren't allowed to do that!

:07:33. > :07:36.Well, they just want to take a little bit extra time as well to get

:07:37. > :07:46.themselves in the right frame of mind as they start a pretty pivotal

:07:47. > :07:48.second set for them. And just put the relative disappointment behind

:07:49. > :07:53.them of losing that opening set. They were the ones that looked as

:07:54. > :07:57.though they started a little more brightly, but it was the French team

:07:58. > :08:33.that started stronger. He called out there, but

:08:34. > :08:37.Roger-Vasselin thought that was going out. I'm sure Benneteau could

:08:38. > :08:40.have got that anyway. I think he could. A good rally. A nice feel

:08:41. > :09:14.from all four players. The coach who is working with

:09:15. > :09:34.Klaasen. He is South African. Well, you saw a little space and he

:09:35. > :09:44.was millimetres away from landing it. And that's the danger when you

:09:45. > :09:48.go to the angle, you can see Ram's first volley up the middle narrowing

:09:49. > :09:49.the angles he went wide there, but didn't get enough on it and they had

:09:50. > :10:43.a lot to defend. Has he got stung? A bee. Owh.

:10:44. > :10:52.A sting. Sometimes, I don't know if you can see see the sting, but you

:10:53. > :11:00.can almost pull it out, but wow, that's...

:11:01. > :11:10.Oh, he picked it up. The memo, don't pick bees up!

:11:11. > :11:14.He needs to go and update his subscription to the Discovery

:11:15. > :11:15.Channel and just check what happens in the wild.

:11:16. > :11:23.LAUGHTER Picking up bees. I know what to get

:11:24. > :11:28.him for Christmas. A whole series. I can't believe he did that!

:11:29. > :11:34.I tell you what, it is a good job he is not allergic to it. I am. Are

:11:35. > :11:41.you? Yes. That's quite a horrific thing to get.

:11:42. > :11:46.And seriously dangerous, but it looks like it is a little bit of

:11:47. > :11:59.pain, but that could get a lot of swelling. Well, he will get a lot of

:12:00. > :12:02.people writing in saying that he is a very gentle chap. He didn't want

:12:03. > :12:14.to kill the bee. He just tried to rescue it!

:12:15. > :12:18.Well, hopefully the bee is fine. He hope he hasn't run on it. That would

:12:19. > :12:25.be a bit of a waste. He steps on it accidentally. Well, now, it is dead.

:12:26. > :12:28.Once a bee stings you, it is dead. It pulls out its abdomen as well. I

:12:29. > :12:32.mean indirectly, it is a shame the whole thing has been completely

:12:33. > :12:36.futile! LAUGHTER

:12:37. > :12:39.Not only has he upset his chance of making a Wimbledon final, but he has

:12:40. > :12:43.killed the one thing he was trying to protect!

:12:44. > :13:03.Oh dear. He swots it. Charming. Well, that was a bit more dramatic

:13:04. > :13:08.than it looked like it was going to be for an opening game of a second

:13:09. > :13:10.set! LAUGHTER

:13:11. > :13:18.Benneteau, he is still cracking up laughing. He says, "What's going

:13:19. > :13:22.on?" Yeah, I mean, all seriousness you

:13:23. > :13:36.can see he is holding the bottle without putting his pressure on it.

:13:37. > :13:40.I mean... I've run out of water. Not only that, there is a drastic

:13:41. > :13:54.shortage of honeybees in cities as well.

:13:55. > :14:44.Well, I think he left that and it wasn't proved to be the most prudent

:14:45. > :15:58.of calls. Great reactions from Roger-Vasselin

:15:59. > :16:03.and Klaasen was just trying to get himself across the court there, but

:16:04. > :16:04.it was actually too much pace on the return from Ram and Roger-Vasselin

:16:05. > :16:18.could just use that. Well, the last time Klaasen served,

:16:19. > :16:35.he got broken. So a little bit of pressure on the South African.

:16:36. > :16:47.A terrific rally. Lovely hitting from Roger-Vasselin and some great

:16:48. > :16:51.defensive work. From Ram and Klaasen there, just moving in tandem, just

:16:52. > :17:07.closing the angles down and the space.

:17:08. > :17:14.It is so important to keep good balance at the net. Nice wide

:17:15. > :17:18.stance, slightly wide at the shoulders, you just need to be able

:17:19. > :17:21.to reach. You see how much of the court Klaasen with just half a step,

:17:22. > :17:30.he could pretty much cover half of it. It looked like an easy shot, but

:17:31. > :17:32.no real gaps appearing for him. He has got a terrific slice serve when

:17:33. > :18:27.he lands it. A good, solid start by both teams

:18:28. > :18:32.here at the beginning of the second set. Again, there you see that flat

:18:33. > :18:35.hit from Benneteau and they have actually for the most part, Klaasen

:18:36. > :18:39.and Ram defended that particular shot well. He doesn't have the

:18:40. > :18:52.greatest lob. You can sit a little closer on the net. Not very quick

:18:53. > :18:56.hands, Klaasen. Anything particularly you can do, John, to

:18:57. > :19:01.improve the speed of your hands, the reaction? It is work, I mean,

:19:02. > :19:08.basically, when I was like 16 years old, I went to the great Lou Hope's

:19:09. > :19:14.camp in Spain and I had a big back-spin on my forehand volley. The

:19:15. > :19:18.South Africans had back spins which were about an inch and they came

:19:19. > :19:22.back at you and said we will get rid of that. The two of them were

:19:23. > :19:26.volleying and I was on my own and every time I took my racket by the

:19:27. > :19:32.time I hit the racket the next ball hit my chest. Believe me, after four

:19:33. > :19:35.weeks my hands were quicker because otherwise I was getting peppered all

:19:36. > :19:40.the time. And your chest was bruised? And my chest was definitely

:19:41. > :19:44.bruised and my ego! It is a good little tip though.

:19:45. > :19:49.Also, like you stand, if you get somebody to feed the ball and you're

:19:50. > :19:54.standing on a wall or an a fence, you get the sense as you feed the

:19:55. > :19:58.ball how quickly you naturally and instinctively want to take it back

:19:59. > :20:02.bigger than you need to. Exactly. If you can see see your racket when you

:20:03. > :20:12.take your hand back, you know you've taken the back too far.

:20:13. > :20:18.I tell you what, he doesn't want to get down on his knee, does he?

:20:19. > :20:22.Roger-Vasselin feels as though he wants to move quickly so that kind

:20:23. > :20:26.of giraffe-like stance that he has at the net to be able to get across

:20:27. > :20:30.rather than sometimes you will see the guy in the middle down on one

:20:31. > :20:35.knee, but this way he can actually move, but his back is almost about

:20:36. > :20:43.the height of the net. How Benneteau hasn't tagged him a couple of times

:20:44. > :20:52.already is remarkable. He likes that shot. Of the second serve a little

:20:53. > :20:55.bit more time as well. Not many one-handers have that shot in

:20:56. > :20:59.doubles, the off backhand, that extreme angle that he gets into the

:21:00. > :21:01.tramlines. He has got that three or four lines now. That's a tough shot

:21:02. > :21:27.to make. It is a pretty pacy second serve at

:21:28. > :21:49.108, isn't it? Oh, that was Vasselin's ball there

:21:50. > :21:53.and he knows it. No communication. No communication.

:21:54. > :22:02.Benneteau had no chance. The ball has past him by the time he reacted.

:22:03. > :22:10.He just had time to breathe. A slight opening here now.

:22:11. > :22:23.Oh what, a shot! That was a big point too to go down two break

:22:24. > :22:27.points. They took up the right position, but what an angle and from

:22:28. > :22:43.that the speed he got from that height. That's impressive.

:22:44. > :22:53.So good. They move well together. When they

:22:54. > :22:57.are up at the net, it is almost like they have got a six foot rope

:22:58. > :23:00.attached to them at the waist and when one player moves on to hit a

:23:01. > :23:03.volley on the right, the other player moves with him. Keeps that

:23:04. > :23:09.group together not to give you too much space to hit the ball through.

:23:10. > :23:14.You move with your player. Or with your partner. A lot of time in club

:23:15. > :23:17.tennis you will see a player go to the tram line and the other person

:23:18. > :23:33.will be covering the other side and there is a big gap down the middle.

:23:34. > :23:42.What a point. That's what the crowd to have to see, this type of tennis.

:23:43. > :23:46.A few nods in the crowd, they enjoyed that. I have never seen a

:23:47. > :23:50.lobbed volley like that. He did well to get that one down and Klaasen

:23:51. > :23:53.there, that was great feel because it had to be that good otherwise

:23:54. > :24:20.Benneteau would have picked that one up easily. A good point.

:24:21. > :24:27.It has happened twice in this game already, the community xation was a

:24:28. > :24:32.bit off! They played so much tennis that they maybe a bit sick and tired

:24:33. > :24:33.with one another and they are not communicating, they both ran on to

:24:34. > :24:57.the same ball. Just a little wrong. And pressure

:24:58. > :25:18.continues on Benneteau's serve. Well, let's see if he goes back into

:25:19. > :25:20.the slightly weaker side of Ram on the backhand side or whether he

:25:21. > :25:34.takes it into the strength. APPLAUSE

:25:35. > :25:39.Just in this game we're seeing the lack of real acceleration from Ram a

:25:40. > :25:42.couple of times to get to the net. Possibly they could have chiselled

:25:43. > :25:47.out a break in the second set. The one where Benneteau ran around and

:25:48. > :25:49.cracked it across court, Ram still a little bit behind the service line.

:25:50. > :26:00.Quicker players would have been able to hit that volley at a decent

:26:01. > :26:05.height. That's a big, big hold for Benneteau and Roger-Vasselin. Two

:26:06. > :26:10.uncomfortable moments in terms of the communication between the two.

:26:11. > :26:13.Some wonderful play from Ram and Klaasen and we are at a couple of

:26:14. > :26:36.games a piece here. That's three rackets. That's at

:26:37. > :26:40.least six I've counted and now he is checking the one that he has put

:26:41. > :26:42.down. So I don't know how much science went into that and how much

:26:43. > :26:55.was just feel! New balls. So maybe a tighter racket

:26:56. > :27:17.for this service game. He just paid the price for not good

:27:18. > :27:22.enough first volley there. Too short. It was one thing to block it

:27:23. > :27:57.deep. It wasn't one to put away straightaway, but too short.

:27:58. > :28:26.It is the second one in a row he has done there.

:28:27. > :28:28.He is almost leaning over the net when he hits that. He is so close to

:28:29. > :28:53.the net. Benneteau is a fairly flat hitter of

:28:54. > :28:55.the ball. It is just the way he reacted afterwards. I think he

:28:56. > :29:08.wasn't entirely convinced it was going in.

:29:09. > :29:37.Steadied the ship early on in the second set. Klaasen and Ram. Ram,

:29:38. > :29:45.who has been in the world's top 100 in doubles now since 2007. That's

:29:46. > :29:59.when he finished year end at 63. His best year end rankings was last

:30:00. > :30:07.year. The 33-year-old American finished 2009 inside the 100 in

:30:08. > :30:12.singles as well at 89. I think now, we talked about it with the Bryans'

:30:13. > :30:17.losing their domination, they're not, a few years back, it was how

:30:18. > :30:22.many were they going to win? At lot of these teams have to be thinking

:30:23. > :30:27.that they have a chance to reach the top now, it is wide open, Jamie

:30:28. > :30:31.Murray is number one, I think he is going to lose his number one ranking

:30:32. > :30:36.at the end this turningment, there is a lot of spaces where nobody is

:30:37. > :30:40.really dominating and a couple of good solid performances in Grand

:30:41. > :30:43.Slams, the number one ranking is up for grabs winning slams, there is a

:30:44. > :30:45.lot of teams in the mix now, it is very difficult to predict at the

:30:46. > :30:52.beginning of the tournament who was going to win a Grand Slam in

:30:53. > :30:54.doubles. For a while it was the Bryans, unless they have a bad day,

:30:55. > :31:15.but not anymore. There will be a few changes to the

:31:16. > :31:18.rankings with these two, depending on the results. Roger-Vasselin is

:31:19. > :31:25.predicted to be number eight as things stand at the moment in the

:31:26. > :31:30.semifinals stage. And Rajeev Ram, who will have a career-high doubles

:31:31. > :31:32.ranking as well after this tournament, guaranteed to be at

:31:33. > :32:08.least 24. The most important thing you can do

:32:09. > :32:13.on that pick-up is just keep a -- keep it low. There is the

:32:14. > :32:19.possibility for a lob if you get into that sort of stage, the short

:32:20. > :32:31.ball there, not much for Ram to do except try to get it through his

:32:32. > :32:35.opponents. Benneteau had a very long arduous hold on serve and he sees

:32:36. > :32:42.his partner doing it in a far more simpler fashion here, three games

:32:43. > :33:57.all. That was a great shot. Plus also

:33:58. > :34:01.good recognition that he has just served a double fault and there is a

:34:02. > :34:05.chance that second serve is not going to necessarily be slow, but it

:34:06. > :34:10.will not necessarily go straight to the line and feel as confident. He

:34:11. > :34:15.is just writing some notes down, one of the coaches who likes to do that

:34:16. > :34:29.almost every single point, Jeff Coetzee, to remind himself what

:34:30. > :34:50.You see the second serve come in and you can see he made that initial

:34:51. > :35:11.move to his right hand side. Big trouble now.

:35:12. > :35:21.That was just pressure. Ram swings his racket at fresh air and he

:35:22. > :35:30.wishes he had been swinging at fresh air when he touched the ball.

:35:31. > :35:35.Because that was heading over the baseline, but that is pressure at

:35:36. > :35:39.the moment. There is no room for error but unfortunately it was an

:35:40. > :35:46.error in judgment in the end. That was going miles out. 0-40, and in

:35:47. > :35:50.Men's Doubles you can still claw that back and we saw that in the

:35:51. > :35:56.first set when they recovered from 0-40, but this one here is going way

:35:57. > :36:05.out. Unfortunately now they are in big trouble here. Nice balance on

:36:06. > :36:09.that forehand, just the return serve of the French team, they have just

:36:10. > :36:17.been more solid. They have combined better today. With Ram and Klaasen

:36:18. > :36:20.there is too much where one has played well, one has dropped off a

:36:21. > :36:25.little bit, and we have not combined at the same time as much as the

:36:26. > :36:30.French couple have. They look very confident now, as they should be,

:36:31. > :36:46.asset and a break. Still a lot of work to do, made you. -- a set and a

:36:47. > :37:19.A day for smearing on the sun lotion.

:37:20. > :37:26.Lightning fast, Klaasen, but just couldn't get enough on anything

:37:27. > :37:37.there really to keep the French team at bay. Good hands, keeping them in

:37:38. > :37:42.this rally, until this little bit of subtlety from Benneteau.

:37:43. > :38:19.APPLAUSE Game, Benneteau, Roger-Vasselin.

:38:20. > :38:23.Benneteau and Roger-Vasselin lead 5-3, second set. Not unlike a

:38:24. > :38:28.fastball in cricket, Benneteau has even a sort of medium paced one out

:38:29. > :38:32.wide that time, and you can see Klaasen was stretching for it,

:38:33. > :38:35.reaching for it, swinging for the vigour of serve, and ended up a lot

:38:36. > :38:42.further in front than he would have liked and attracted wide -- fast

:38:43. > :39:01.bowler in cricket. All they can do now is just try to

:39:02. > :39:06.keep the second set alight and just give themselves one more chance to

:39:07. > :39:09.break the French team. They are right on the cost of being down 2-0

:39:10. > :39:29.here in the semifinals. -- on the cusp. That was

:39:30. > :39:30.dropped by Roger-Vasselin's father, I believe. Bad hands. He will be

:39:31. > :40:02.criticised for that. Open court. Not able to land it that

:40:03. > :40:19.time. That is Bryan Smith on the right of Jeff Coetzee, Ram's coach.

:40:20. > :40:25.Back in 2002, Rajeev Ram, with Brian Baker, a wonderful junior and also a

:40:26. > :40:28.pretty good professional. If he could just have stayed healthy, one

:40:29. > :40:48.wonders what his career would have looked like.

:40:49. > :40:51.APPLAUSE Benneteau and Roger-Vasselin lead

:40:52. > :41:13.5-4. Second set. And one set to love. The best laid plans

:41:14. > :41:17.for that team, John, not going to plan. I think you are right. They

:41:18. > :41:21.just look more solid, the French team, more of a unit together. They

:41:22. > :41:29.just seem to be combining at the right times, stringing winners

:41:30. > :41:35.together at the right time, combining. Ram and Klaasen have had

:41:36. > :41:38.good periods but not at the same time, and it is frustrating for

:41:39. > :41:44.them, but the French team looked very solid now. Their returns of

:41:45. > :41:46.serve, just a little bit better. Holding serve a little more

:41:47. > :42:12.comfortably. A good performance. So the onus will fall on

:42:13. > :42:31.Roger-Vasselin to take a 2-0 sets lead for his team. Ram is

:42:32. > :42:38.challenging this one, but not sure he will get much joy, but it is

:42:39. > :42:51.desperate times for Ram and Klaasen right now. But worthy of a

:42:52. > :42:54.challenge. Good defensive play, both Benneteau and Roger-Vasselin closing

:42:55. > :42:59.that gap down the middle. Not easy to know which one will go at that

:43:00. > :43:13.particular stage. It was a good fit. Better both than none. -- good hit.

:43:14. > :43:23.APPLAUSE I am not sure, actually, the lob, as

:43:24. > :43:26.good as that was, was the right shot for Klaasen, because there was only

:43:27. > :43:29.one place the Frenchman could go and that was to drop a bit deeper away

:43:30. > :43:43.from the net. He had a bit of space in the forecourt to try to did it

:43:44. > :43:48.down and follow it in. -- dip it down. That is beautiful serving.

:43:49. > :43:51.Kind of an unorthodox action as well, the swing from Roger-Vasselin,

:43:52. > :43:55.but he gets plenty of pace on it and because of that as well it is

:43:56. > :43:59.difficult to read. We have seen how he can cut it out wide. So you have

:44:00. > :44:10.to guard against that as well. The set points. -- three set points.

:44:11. > :44:22.That brings up a 2-0 sets lead for the French pairing. Given their

:44:23. > :44:28.exploits in the previous round they will be taking nothing for granted

:44:29. > :44:31.because they have been pushed the distance, but for Klaasen and Ram

:44:32. > :44:35.this is uncharted territory, of course, right from the fact they

:44:36. > :44:42.dropped the opening set here, had not lost a set coming in, but they

:44:43. > :44:47.have not really had an answer to the pinpoint serving for the majority of

:44:48. > :44:51.this match, as you can see from Benneteau and Roger-Vasselin's

:44:52. > :44:57.fantastic serving percentages on the first serve, and second serve points

:44:58. > :45:02.really being the stumbling block for Klaasen and Ram. Yes, that has gone

:45:03. > :45:07.down from the first set. That was not that great for Klaasen and Ram

:45:08. > :45:10.there, but now it is shocking. If they missed the first survey are in

:45:11. > :45:20.big trouble almost every time and the French have upped the returns of

:45:21. > :45:24.serve, reading the ball better and hitting it at the right time. They

:45:25. > :45:28.look like Grand Slam winners. I know they have won one. They have that

:45:29. > :45:33.are of confidence about them. Very confident before, walking on court,

:45:34. > :45:39.and a bit of trouble in that first set, but they did not let it worry

:45:40. > :45:52.them at all -- aura of confidence. They knew they had a whale to go and

:45:53. > :45:55.they looked confident. Julien's brother, he will be pretty happy

:45:56. > :46:05.with the coaching job he has put in for this one. They had three first

:46:06. > :46:16.match defeats in Acapulco and Indian Wells, turned it around in Miami.

:46:17. > :46:19.APPLAUSE Charging up there then he thought

:46:20. > :46:20.better of it and charge the other way!

:46:21. > :46:32.LAUGHTER I thought, what is he doing there,

:46:33. > :46:36.when he started charging towards it? He was trying to be about as brave

:46:37. > :46:39.as you could possibly be on a tennis court, then he decided he would flee

:46:40. > :46:40.the scene! LAUGHTER

:46:41. > :46:58.He definitely thought better of it. That was a good get from

:46:59. > :47:33.Roger-Vasselin, just to keep it in play.

:47:34. > :47:38.You don't get the piece of ground strokes in the doubles but you

:47:39. > :47:42.certainly get a sense that the French team have a little bit more

:47:43. > :47:47.miles per hour on the balls the firing in when they have that

:47:48. > :48:10.chance. -- that they are firing A change of ends, in terms of where

:48:11. > :48:15.he has been serving, Ram, a nice hold of serve. Through some of their

:48:16. > :48:18.results, that final appearance getting their year underway for

:48:19. > :48:33.Klaasen and Ram, but a tough lost for them at the French of course,

:48:34. > :48:37.two former partners, due to rack -- Buturac, and the long-term partner

:48:38. > :48:45.for Rajeev Ram, who won three titles with him. When is a hat not a hat?

:48:46. > :48:47.When it is an umbrella! That is a big bit of shade she is underneath,

:48:48. > :50:25.needed today. Game - Benneteau and Roger-Vasselin.

:50:26. > :53:06.1-1, third set. Verbal encouragement from Ram to his

:53:07. > :53:09.partner there. "Come On," out on the line and need your a note of

:53:10. > :53:15.prestige for this team as well. They have had a wonderful run on the

:53:16. > :53:21.grass and they do not want to stop here. Raven Klaasen comedy is a

:53:22. > :53:29.bubbly sort of personality. I spent some time with him last year --

:53:30. > :53:34.Klaasen, he is. He was giving him help, and he was great on the team,

:53:35. > :53:38.he has that team spirit that you want. Although they are losing now,

:53:39. > :53:44.you will be good, speaking to his partner, encouraging him the whole

:53:45. > :53:48.time. At half-time he used to do dancing with older kids on the

:53:49. > :53:57.court. He is a good dancer as well. -- with all the kids. But he is a

:53:58. > :54:10.great personality and he will still be in this match, encouraging his

:54:11. > :54:13.partner. We have seen that it is wafer thin, how that difference in

:54:14. > :54:16.particular in doubles can be, and how things can turn around, and we

:54:17. > :54:22.even saw that in the singles yesterday. The difference has been

:54:23. > :54:43.on a razor's edge. Well, he had to pit a winner and he

:54:44. > :54:50.just could not get his feet to read the ball was. A good return, again,

:54:51. > :54:55.just making Benneteau thing a little bit about backing away from the net

:54:56. > :55:00.-- hit a winner. Very condensed there, in terms of the angles

:55:01. > :55:14.available for Klaasen to try and exploit. -- for Ram to try and

:55:15. > :55:20.exploit. Has served well, hasn't he? He picks sports well. Not the

:55:21. > :55:31.biggest server, as you said. Looks awkward...

:55:32. > :55:42.Picks spots well. A real firecracker, that forehand of Ram,

:55:43. > :55:53.isn't it? Not a lot of numbers but he has managed to produce today.

:55:54. > :56:03.A bit excited there. A good forehand and a good return. Usually the heat

:56:04. > :56:22.seeker, well, that was the head seeker!

:56:23. > :56:38.He has got some pace on that shot. Really sort of relaxed, lazy,

:56:39. > :56:54.almost, isn't it? But when he connects with the ball, it just

:56:55. > :57:05.fires through. Gorgeous. APPLAUSE

:57:06. > :57:10.He made that look incredibly easy, Benneteau, didn't he? He really did.

:57:11. > :57:14.And Klaasen charging in there as well was quick, and he just

:57:15. > :57:21.delicately dropped that one short. You can see, he can't get near it.

:57:22. > :57:33.That was lovely. Nice open faced, the racket back as the ball... The

:57:34. > :57:41.strength just killing the pace. What a shot. The most had to drag out

:57:42. > :57:44.from behind him and you can understand why Klaasen was trying to

:57:45. > :57:48.get across the court. From there it looked that the angle for sure was

:57:49. > :57:53.for the offhand back return and how much left they get into that to try

:57:54. > :58:03.to drag it up the line. Fantastic from Roger-Vasselin. -- he almost

:58:04. > :58:07.had to drag it out. Good stretch. He would have been aware, because he is

:58:08. > :58:12.the sort of player who reads those situations well, that the opponents

:58:13. > :58:14.would have been closing in. Expecting something, sure. It had to

:58:15. > :58:34.be good, and was. That is one of those shots that both

:58:35. > :58:38.players wanted, that next ball. Roger-Vasselin was ready for the

:58:39. > :58:57.backhand and Benneteau called him off.

:58:58. > :59:51.SLOW CLAPPING Always worth a challenge when it is

:59:52. > :00:05.that it is, but it goes the -- that way, as does the game.

:00:06. > :00:12.They are just having a minor discussion about tactics or,

:00:13. > :00:16.perhaps, they could do better on the return game and they will be buoyed

:00:17. > :00:36.of going into this game given how close they got last time around.

:00:37. > :00:49.Two fairly high chronic shots there. Champagne and strawberries. The fan

:00:50. > :01:19.indicating the heat that is around today.

:01:20. > :01:25.Definitely decided a view more logs were needed here, Ram. That one was

:01:26. > :01:55.a definite ploy. One of his finest returns for a

:01:56. > :02:13.while. The fastest serve of the day at 105

:02:14. > :02:48.from Benneteau. They came, it is the Benneteau

:02:49. > :03:05.server that is under siege, being attacked by Ram and Klaasen.

:03:06. > :03:19.What a point. Benneteau did so well closing on the net at one stage but

:03:20. > :03:29.he just couldn't quite move to a poll that was hanging there. That

:03:30. > :03:33.was a defensive folly. Klaasen and Ram taking advantage of it. Can they

:03:34. > :03:56.take advantage of some of this break point? That was a great move from

:03:57. > :04:01.Klaasen. He picked his point and, he just came out of that forehand,

:04:02. > :04:48.lifted his body up. It was a good return.

:04:49. > :05:01.Line, serve, line, return. This was a superb second serve. It couldn't

:05:02. > :05:03.have gotten much closer to the line than that. A good return and it

:05:04. > :05:28.across. -- drag it across. Relying on the place to force the

:05:29. > :05:48.ball behind Ram, he was trying to pull it from behind him.

:05:49. > :05:59.Just cannot quite make it happened at the moment. That was another good

:06:00. > :06:04.game on the Benneteau server. Some solid defence on the break point,

:06:05. > :06:09.especially the pavement from Roger-Vasselin. He closed down the

:06:10. > :06:19.gap. They have just played the big points that so far. I think the

:06:20. > :07:37.actual match is closer than 7-5, 6-4. It feels closer.

:07:38. > :07:44.The ball has just been thrown back to the back of the court behind the

:07:45. > :08:30.Benneteau. He almost had his partner with the

:08:31. > :08:31.first serve. He was certainly trying to get Roger-Vasselin with that

:08:32. > :09:06.drive. I think Ram is a little irritated

:09:07. > :09:11.with Roger-Vasselin because it was him who put his hand up because the

:09:12. > :09:16.ball came in behind Benneteau and the Benneteau made a good return and

:09:17. > :09:19.they felt as though it was Ram who highlighted the fact to the umpire

:09:20. > :09:25.that the ball had been thrown back in there. It is a moot point to be

:09:26. > :09:32.honest because at 40- love it was never going to change the outcome of

:09:33. > :09:37.that game and the set. Sometimes as a player you are looking for

:09:38. > :09:41.something to hang your hat on for a bit of extra intensity and maybe

:09:42. > :09:45.that is what he wants, a bit of anger to get himself to the point

:09:46. > :09:59.where he can make it happen. Late night? It could still be a bit

:10:00. > :10:27.evening here, such is the wafer thin difference between these two teams.

:10:28. > :10:34.I think he is just to -- checking the rules about bathroom breaks.

:10:35. > :10:47.They are allowed to in the course of a five set match. One over the

:10:48. > :10:54.course of a best-of-3. I did a little survey at Indian Wells about

:10:55. > :10:57.the nuances in terms of rules on the tour and it was amazing how many

:10:58. > :11:14.people, including some of the top ten didn't know all of the release,

:11:15. > :12:32.precisely. Edge all rooms. Making sure that the ball is coming back.

:12:33. > :12:43.Just took off a fraction too late. That is just a downside for him,

:12:44. > :12:49.just not that dynamic movement he has, the explosive seat. He has the

:12:50. > :12:53.time it so well. He can reach balls, but in terms of that movement at the

:12:54. > :13:12.net that he would like, it is not always as easy for him.

:13:13. > :14:19.A good job there. -- jump. The business end of the set.

:14:20. > :14:27.Some are pretty quick thinking there. Unfortunately for Klaasen, it

:14:28. > :14:31.was almost too quick for his own good. He couldn't see what was

:14:32. > :14:49.coming and tried to push off for that.

:14:50. > :15:01.Once again, so close to the net on those follies. Literally on top of

:15:02. > :15:16.the net when those. -- when they hit films. A beautiful point.

:15:17. > :15:32.Outstanding. Outstanding play from Klaasen.

:15:33. > :15:46.Some quick hands in that game. In that last point in particular from

:15:47. > :15:50.Klaasen. A good half-volley. I thought he was going to put that one

:15:51. > :15:54.away but it came back and he reacted quickly and stayed nice and low on

:15:55. > :15:59.the half-volley. He closed in and there wasn't much of a gap, followed

:16:00. > :16:06.the ball, kept his feet moving into the volley. Excellent. Some of those

:16:07. > :16:09.quick reflexes, you see the double players in their drills where they

:16:10. > :16:15.have coaches firing balls at them from about eight feet away and they

:16:16. > :16:19.are standing on top of the net and just blasting Tomahawks at them at

:16:20. > :16:24.100 miles an hour and they just stand there and reflects them off

:16:25. > :16:29.and you think, how many of those shots or a realistically going to

:16:30. > :16:33.get in a match but sometimes two or three big ones on big points can

:16:34. > :16:38.make the difference between winning or losing, those green points. --

:16:39. > :17:55.those reaction points. He was going with the soft tip to

:17:56. > :17:58.use his speed to get up the court and get something higher above the

:17:59. > :18:03.net to close in what he called the tape on the way to his intended

:18:04. > :18:08.target. Benneteau will be delighted to get an easy service game. He

:18:09. > :18:18.hasn't really had one in this set so far.

:18:19. > :18:50.A great second serve. But had a bit of everything, accuracy, bounce.

:18:51. > :19:03.I thought he was going to head guard over for a second. -- head start

:19:04. > :19:09.over. If they could somehow sneaked into this tie-break. They haven't

:19:10. > :19:11.lost a tie-break in this championship, Klaasen and Ram. They

:19:12. > :19:53.will be confident if they get there. He gets quite a bit of a spin on his

:19:54. > :20:05.second serve. It kicks up high. That was a beautiful serve down the

:20:06. > :20:16.middle. Brilliant. That is just so good. It is the way he hates and

:20:17. > :20:23.moves. He takes the ball in the air. He just runs in to get there. Two

:20:24. > :20:25.quick steps to get the folly nice and high, not letting it drop too

:20:26. > :20:40.low. Benneteau just couldn't quite find

:20:41. > :20:47.the middle of the racket. Couldn't capitalise on a great return from

:20:48. > :20:52.his opponent, his partner rather. I am not sure what he was trying to do

:20:53. > :20:53.there, Benneteau, trying to pace it down though? That was an

:20:54. > :21:33.opportunity. If you watch Ram here, he has gone

:21:34. > :21:38.wide to sell him the dummy and then he has too much weight on the right

:21:39. > :21:40.leg and couldn't get himself back. It passed him at quite a close

:21:41. > :22:03.range. The worst thing you can do after

:22:04. > :22:14.that is stand still and he helps his partner with nice cross. Benneteau

:22:15. > :22:18.isn't going to be feeling that great sitting down. There was a couple of

:22:19. > :22:22.half chances for him in that game and he is the one shaking his head.

:22:23. > :22:33.He knows he didn't quite perform as he knows he can. He may have failed

:22:34. > :22:38.at the final hurdle in single event but he has won ten double events,

:22:39. > :22:45.including the French Open. He has done it with a number of different

:22:46. > :22:56.partners. He has been the common denominator. He did it with Mahut

:22:57. > :23:01.and Clement. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He is the only non-French player he has

:23:02. > :23:08.played with and won a title. At least he has the record, Benneteau.

:23:09. > :23:14.A record is a record. I like the way you think. A glass half. -- have

:23:15. > :23:56.food. -- a glass half-full. A bit of a wild forehand error. He

:23:57. > :24:04.is having a little bit of a let down, Benneteau. If Klaasen and Ram

:24:05. > :24:12.can direct a bit of traffic to him... He is the eldest on the

:24:13. > :24:19.court. The 34-year-old, Benneteau. They could grab this set before it

:24:20. > :24:24.gets to the break. It was an OK serve and an OK serve in the semis

:24:25. > :24:35.of Wimbledon doesn't get you the point and Klaasen used the angle he

:24:36. > :24:47.was given to great effect. That was brilliant. Return winners flowing of

:24:48. > :24:59.the Ram and Klaasen rackets. Here we are with three set points. They have

:25:00. > :25:12.yet to break. They have had five chances until now.

:25:13. > :25:23.He got awfully lucky there. That was brave. That was very lucky. It ended

:25:24. > :25:31.up in a good serif because the ball came off his strings in such a funny

:25:32. > :25:39.way. It kicked up higher. That was a nervous second serve. What a

:25:40. > :26:00.half-volley. That was brilliant. He did a lot of good things there.

:26:01. > :26:29.He had to keeping off Ram's forehand.

:26:30. > :26:37.They deserve set for Klaasen and Ram at the end. That was some terrific

:26:38. > :26:40.renin -- returning to give themselves and their chances. They

:26:41. > :26:47.just kept plugging away on their last point. That is the first time

:26:48. > :26:52.we have seen their composure go a little bit off and he was mad at

:26:53. > :27:02.himself, Ram. He just slipped away in those last few games. He looks

:27:03. > :27:10.like he is tired mentally. They are jogging off here. They are trying to

:27:11. > :27:15.get back out before the two-minute call is given at the end of the set.

:27:16. > :27:22.There is some wonderful returning. As much as they will be disappointed

:27:23. > :27:27.at a little fatigued mentally, given the 25 set losses back they have

:27:28. > :27:34.had, they are still up two sets, which is what they have got to

:27:35. > :27:39.remind themselves. You can see that third set where they started holding

:27:40. > :27:44.the second points, in the first to set that was way down. They have

:27:45. > :27:48.increased their return game and they have finally got the break point.

:27:49. > :27:55.They had for chances and they finally got it. Roger-Vasselin

:27:56. > :28:00.dipped with his return of serve in that set. He didn't put enough

:28:01. > :28:04.pressure on his opponents and at the end of Benneteau in particular just

:28:05. > :28:19.lost his game a little bit, lost his way.

:28:20. > :29:18.There is Roger-Vasselin's father in the Black cap.

:29:19. > :30:23.He loves to head that a double handed down the line,

:30:24. > :30:29.Roger-Vasselin. Class and Ram not giving him that space as often now.

:30:30. > :30:32.He doesn't have as good an off return as Ram has produced. They

:30:33. > :30:39.have shot that particular corridor of success.

:30:40. > :30:47.The French can get a little quiet on returns they are always fairly

:30:48. > :30:52.aggressive but not always consistent.

:30:53. > :30:54.The French can get a little quiet on returns -

:30:55. > :30:56.they are always fairly aggressive but not

:30:57. > :31:04.He isn't the tallest man, the shortest on court, but he more than

:31:05. > :31:11.makes up for that in his liveliness and quick thinking around the court.

:31:12. > :31:17.This is a big moment coming up for the French team. The wind is very

:31:18. > :32:00.much in Klaasen's and Ram's sails. They are going to have to start

:32:01. > :32:03.either moving that ball into Ram's body or into the floor because he

:32:04. > :32:16.has found a lovely groove on that backhand. He has had to go in there

:32:17. > :32:20.at about 120, to 124 to get what he is looking for. Anything smaller of

:32:21. > :32:27.the T there, and Ram has been devastating with that return. -- up

:32:28. > :33:39.the T. Started brightly but Benneteau and

:33:40. > :34:36.Roger-Vasselin are closing the door firmly.

:34:37. > :34:41.Benneteau is shrugging his shoulders and getting deeply frustrated. They

:34:42. > :34:47.just cannot get their teeth into any of these returning games right now,

:34:48. > :34:50.and credit to Klaasen and Ram, who are serving beautifully.

:34:51. > :35:07.APPLAUSE They served unbelievably well

:35:08. > :35:34.against the brothers. That one was short.

:35:35. > :36:01.Superb! How good were the hands? From that man, Roger-Vasselin?

:36:02. > :36:13.2-1 up, fourth set. They trailed by one set to two. Sue SUE BARKER: We

:36:14. > :36:17.will be leaving this match on Court One to join the Williams sisters in

:36:18. > :36:21.their match, so if you want to continue watching, you can with the

:36:22. > :36:24.red button. If you want to continue watching

:36:25. > :36:27.this game, use the red button. Over on BBC One we are watching the

:36:28. > :36:35.doubles match on Centre Court between the number one seeds,

:36:36. > :36:42.Herbert and Mahut, who were up in the second against Huey and Mirnyi.

:36:43. > :36:45.That matches live on BBC One. But over on Court 17, the wheelchair

:36:46. > :36:49.singles are here at Wimbledon for the very first time. The British

:36:50. > :37:06.number one was so excited about this. Gordon Reid, saying he is

:37:07. > :37:14.ready to rumble against Nicholas Feifer. And he is one set up, after

:37:15. > :37:20.the first set. -- Nicolas Feifer. What we are heading to Court Number

:37:21. > :37:28.Two to see the Williams sisters. Serena winning and Venus losing in

:37:29. > :37:54.the semifinals. They are up against Elena

:37:55. > :38:30.Our first is of the match, coming off the racket of the left-hander

:38:31. > :38:41.from Russia, who resides in Moscow, from Sochi, and she is looking for

:38:42. > :38:50.revenge over Serena. Elena Vesnina. That will settle the nerves for

:38:51. > :38:57.these two. A little out of sorts as they lost their first service game.

:38:58. > :39:02.Maybe it is just getting a score on the board, Louise, that will get

:39:03. > :39:09.them into this match, because they do not want it to slip away so

:39:10. > :39:13.quickly yes, she did not bring her absolute best but she has played a

:39:14. > :39:18.lot of matches, a lot of time on court. They pulled out of the Mixed

:39:19. > :39:22.Doubles last night. So she would have a little bit more energy and

:39:23. > :39:27.focus but she has just had so much time on court. That was really a bit

:39:28. > :39:33.of a factor in that match today, but she does have to get the energy up.

:39:34. > :39:38.She has to start working really hard here, and I think the way forward

:39:39. > :39:41.with the Williams sisters is to be nice and aggressive, brave at the

:39:42. > :39:45.net, trying to come forward even if the Williams sisters try to blast

:39:46. > :39:52.through them. They have to really all that net. That is easier said

:39:53. > :40:01.than done, isn't it, against these two? Well, it is just intimidation.

:40:02. > :40:10.Yes. 22 doubles titles to Serena's name, and 21 to Venus. I can see

:40:11. > :40:22.this question coming up later, Louise... From that position it is

:40:23. > :40:29.so hard, just physically imposing, the Williams sisters. They just

:40:30. > :40:31.leave no gaps to sit through. The play from them, though, just to keep

:40:32. > :40:51.that ball short. Dan, I am not good at trivia, so

:40:52. > :41:06.make it an easy one. No, it is a tough one. Venus was there, found

:41:07. > :41:12.the springs. Maybe a little bit too much power or that swing from

:41:13. > :41:17.Vesnina. The question will be, because Serena has won one more

:41:18. > :41:28.title than Venus, would you say? Yes. Who did she win it with? They

:41:29. > :41:32.have won 21 titles together. Serena has one more doubles title to her

:41:33. > :41:36.name. I will give you a clue... This will not help you at all, actually.

:41:37. > :41:47.It was in 2002. LAUGHTER

:41:48. > :42:01.Othello American. -- A fellow American. Lindsay Davenport?

:42:02. > :42:17.Super rally! Well played! What a great point there. 14 shots. Hard to

:42:18. > :42:24.stay in a rally for 14 shots against the Williams sisters. Great thinking

:42:25. > :42:26.here from Vesnina, and again at horrific athlete, Serena, she gets

:42:27. > :42:54.back to easy. -- eight great shot from Makarova. I will

:42:55. > :43:01.actually say that it was Lisa Raymond. It was Alexandra Stevenson

:43:02. > :43:12.back into those and two, the only doubles titles she has claimed

:43:13. > :43:17.without Venus by her side. This time Venus deciding to take charge of the

:43:18. > :43:24.net. She moves so well and because of those long weavers, she can cover

:43:25. > :43:26.so much ground along that net. She has her game face on for this

:43:27. > :43:54.doubles. APPLAUSE

:43:55. > :44:00.That is where she is not at her best, Serena. Coming in Lowell. She

:44:01. > :44:07.likes it up a little bit higher we have seen throughout this match

:44:08. > :44:12.already the drive volley. Another break point. Snuffed out immediately

:44:13. > :44:22.with a big serve out wide, from Serena. They love it. Just so cool.

:44:23. > :44:23.She makes that 113 mph look easy, doesn't she? It was just a warm up

:44:24. > :44:47.serve. Serena has the ability to hit pretty

:44:48. > :44:52.much any served she wants to. Big flat first serves, getting the most

:44:53. > :44:57.pace, you can slice across it, come over the top for top-spin. There you

:44:58. > :45:01.go. A little bit of slice on that one. Not quite as fast as

:45:02. > :45:10.previously, but the slice helping her. Her accuracy is spot-on. Having

:45:11. > :45:19.saved a couple of break points, they take a 3-1 lead. Is that their mum

:45:20. > :45:41.at the back, in front of Patrick Mouratoglou, and

:45:42. > :45:46.again Oracene must be brimming with pride to see them out here. To see

:45:47. > :45:56.them competing out there, the semifinals, it been special. Good

:45:57. > :45:59.placement from Elena there. Their chemistry is a big part of their

:46:00. > :46:02.game and they really have to lift it to be part of this match, keep their

:46:03. > :46:21.energy and positivity high. APPLAUSE

:46:22. > :46:27.I'm not sure how much she knew about that one, because Serena just

:46:28. > :46:31.thumped this one straight at her! She is just thanking her lucky stars

:46:32. > :46:34.she connected with the racket there because that could have been a

:46:35. > :46:41.knockout. We might have had to call the trainer, get the easy chart, but

:46:42. > :46:52.Serena, the target practice again. Well left. I think this will play a

:46:53. > :46:55.part as well, giving the Williams sisters different looks.

:46:56. > :46:59.Straightaway we can see a bit of a distraction factor there. A few

:47:00. > :47:54.returns, which they were not doing earlier on.

:47:55. > :48:07.Another heavy first serve from Vesnina in that game. They are still

:48:08. > :48:11.behind in the game. Well, that was important, right there, just to fix

:48:12. > :48:15.that service came up for it First Minister's Questions, and I really

:48:16. > :48:29.like to straightaway they started thinking tactical smart sense there

:48:30. > :48:37.-- just affects that service game up. 76%, first serves four Vesnina

:48:38. > :48:41.and Makarova, and I think that is high. I think they are converting

:48:42. > :48:46.one or two match of the first serves -- for Vesnina. A big difference in

:48:47. > :48:51.numbers there. Again, they have just got to keep their energy high, keep

:48:52. > :48:54.this great attitude they have on court. They combine really well,

:48:55. > :48:59.these two. They have a little bit of a different style in their games,

:49:00. > :49:04.one with a bit more chic, can use that left wing a bit better, and

:49:05. > :49:07.then Vesnina can play really fast through the court and is super

:49:08. > :49:12.effective. They just know each other's game so well. Very good

:49:13. > :49:19.friends, these two, as well. Vesnina got married in November. And

:49:20. > :49:35.Ekaterina was one of her bridesmaids.

:49:36. > :49:43.That is a good move! Great stuff from Vesnina. That is a part of her

:49:44. > :49:45.game that is really nice, actually. Watching this great volley here, but

:49:46. > :49:53.the relationships these players build in doubles, they last forever,

:49:54. > :49:54.the friendships. They are still very good friends. It is a game for life,

:49:55. > :50:24.tennis. Now, and opening with Venus's serve.

:50:25. > :50:28.Yes, it just decelerated a little bit there. You would have to think

:50:29. > :50:38.these opportunities are going to be few and far between. Can they make

:50:39. > :50:43.it count? Venus stands very close to that centreline. I would get her to

:50:44. > :50:58.move across maybe one or two feet, just to get a different look on that

:50:59. > :51:05.white one. Good hit! -- -- that wide one. I am not sure if Makarova

:51:06. > :51:14.spotted that, but good for him. Venus facing the break points. --

:51:15. > :51:44.good for him. Just a bit of a sluggish game there

:51:45. > :51:49.from Venus. Do you think her singles suffered a little from the fact that

:51:50. > :51:54.she was playing the doubles as well this tournament? She is 36 years of

:51:55. > :51:59.age, 36 years young, we should point out, still in great shape, but

:52:00. > :52:12.surely she cannot have as much in her as she used to have. Perhaps.

:52:13. > :52:24.She does have the Sjogren's syndrome, but we really do not know

:52:25. > :52:31.how that affects on a day to day basis. She lost 6-4, 6-4, just a

:52:32. > :52:42.little earlier, about one hour and a half ago, to Angelique Kerber. I do

:52:43. > :52:46.not know if it is scientifically proven but I think these left serves

:52:47. > :53:00.school wider than the rate once -- Sjogren's syndrome. It is wicked. --

:53:01. > :53:05.these left serves go wider than the right ones. Yes, that would be an

:53:06. > :53:09.interesting study to look at. Would it really be interesting? I think

:53:10. > :53:18.so. Hawk-Eye could work that out very quickly. Let's get those boys

:53:19. > :53:27.onto it. Hope impressive was that from Makarova? One break back. And

:53:28. > :53:35.emphatic cold. It means they are ahead for the first time in this

:53:36. > :53:39.opening set -- an emphatic hold. They have been partners for four

:53:40. > :53:46.years, regular doubles partners, compared to the 25 to 30 years that

:53:47. > :53:50.Venus and Serena have been sharing a tennis court! But it is a

:53:51. > :53:58.combination, for many reasons, that stands them in very good stead. And

:53:59. > :54:03.they have had six wins, tournament wins, sorry, I beg your pardon, five

:54:04. > :54:09.tournament wins together. Two Grand Slams, and that is not to be snuffed

:54:10. > :54:16.out, for any combination. Absolutely. What I love about this

:54:17. > :54:21.pair is they are constantly working together, extremely professional,

:54:22. > :54:24.always looking for combinations, for patterns, changing things up, they

:54:25. > :54:29.have a relentlessly positive attitude towards everything they do

:54:30. > :54:32.and, yes, just a chemistry, it adds that value. You see them having

:54:33. > :54:38.lunch together. You know, they really do have a true friendship.

:54:39. > :54:41.Which, in the moments, when the stress is there, they can look

:54:42. > :54:47.around and just have that little smile, that sense of confidence that

:54:48. > :54:49.makes a big difference. And they have each other's backs, don't they?

:54:50. > :54:55.And they are ahead here. And they have each others'

:54:56. > :55:09.backs, don't they? And of course on the other hand of

:55:10. > :55:16.the Williams sisters also have this incredible relationship and bond,

:55:17. > :55:19.but they are not out there week two-week working on their doubles

:55:20. > :55:23.skills, their positioning and understanding of what each other is

:55:24. > :55:31.doing. They are just so good. Deeply incredible singles in doubles. --

:55:32. > :55:37.they can play incredible single in doubles. In the French Open the lost

:55:38. > :55:42.in the last 16, did Venus and Serena. Did not play at all together

:55:43. > :55:48.last season. She just managed to stretch that wide! And she got

:55:49. > :55:52.enough on it to nudge it down the line, and that is all they did. This

:55:53. > :55:56.is a smart option always with the Williams sisters. They tend to cover

:55:57. > :55:59.the middle really well. They like to cross. The hard thing is to try to

:56:00. > :56:45.go line against a server such as Serena Williams.

:56:46. > :56:54.M's the aces for the Williams. Just the one double. -- that is the

:56:55. > :57:08.122 miles per hour, as you can see over Serena's shoulder there.

:57:09. > :57:13.APPLAUSE Just having a bit of a laugh there.

:57:14. > :57:20.Makarova saying that one came through likeability. Sometimes you

:57:21. > :57:28.either have to laugh or cry. -- like a bullet. That is great. Good

:57:29. > :57:35.serving there from Serena. Don't you think women have the right to do

:57:36. > :57:39.both at the same time, though, Dan? Do not draw me into those kind of

:57:40. > :57:45.conversations! Very emotional specimens. We can laugh and cry, and

:57:46. > :57:51.still be confused, the good point about being a woman! So much

:57:52. > :58:02.material there that I am just not going to get into... Yes, solid. It

:58:03. > :58:06.is all about just measuring the time, waiting for the right moment.

:58:07. > :58:12.You can see your opponent, just a little under stress, the quality,

:58:13. > :58:18.and you can see Serena's ball setting up a little bit higher.

:58:19. > :58:25.Great timing. I would like to see her take one more step closer,

:58:26. > :58:28.because of that comes with a hard at you and you don't quite get a clean

:58:29. > :58:42.hit it will just go straight into the net.

:58:43. > :58:56.Serena apologising... You just wouldn't want to be right now in

:58:57. > :58:59.this situation, would you, Dan? With Williams, the wall coming in, just

:59:00. > :59:07.moving forwards, racket swinging everywhere. As you say, it is bone

:59:08. > :59:19.fide play in doubles, coming straight at your opponent.

:59:20. > :59:33.APPLAUSE Makarova faking their and just

:59:34. > :59:36.goading Serena into hitting one down the line. Remember, she had crossed

:59:37. > :59:42.previously on that side. You have to be brave and take this formation up,

:59:43. > :59:52.if you're the net player. The key is to get low and keep your head down.

:59:53. > :00:00.A superb point again. Well played, from Ekaterina Makarova. And the

:00:01. > :00:04.beauty of playing that formation is that you can go either way.

:00:05. > :00:08.Brilliant, but again I would like to just take one more step closer

:00:09. > :00:12.because that first shot she had, had she been a little higher or closer

:00:13. > :00:26.to the net, I think she could have just found a better angle.

:00:27. > :00:33.You do feel like you are a little bit at the ferry day. You have to be

:00:34. > :00:39.brave laying that close to the net but when you are facing Serena and

:00:40. > :00:43.Venus, extra care each is required. -- playing.

:00:44. > :00:56.The formation served them well in that game.

:00:57. > :01:06.The Williams sisters will have to come out and serve to stay in this

:01:07. > :01:11.opener. Damn, you talk about the fact that the lefties seem to get at

:01:12. > :01:19.angles. Look back through the doubles, best doubles combinations

:01:20. > :01:22.in the world, they all had a lefty, Fleming and McEnroe, Martina

:01:23. > :01:30.Navratilova and Pam Shriver... These guys are doing extremely well. The

:01:31. > :01:35.Bryan brothers, it goes on... That combination just adds so much more

:01:36. > :01:41.value, a different dimension, it's great for confusing your opponent.

:01:42. > :01:49.It's quite remarkable, actually, if you think just how many teams have

:01:50. > :01:54.that... I am sure there are plenty of amateur club players watching,

:01:55. > :01:58.left-handed, I am sure of when they play doubles the natural instinct is

:01:59. > :02:03.for the left-hander to play on the left-hand side, the advantage side,

:02:04. > :02:20.that is not necessarily the best way to go? As displayed here by Makarova

:02:21. > :02:42.and Vesnina. Pressure, perhaps on this.

:02:43. > :02:51.Good point, Dan, if you are a lefty, you don't have to play the ad site,

:02:52. > :02:55.the key for that club players are there, you put yourself on the side

:02:56. > :03:04.you are going to get your preferred shot more often.

:03:05. > :03:14.Doesn't matter what your preferred is with Venus and Serena, sometimes,

:03:15. > :03:21.the strength of Makarova is the backhand crosscourt, she is getting

:03:22. > :03:26.that shot more often. We have seen Venus with two big serves down the

:03:27. > :03:32.middle of the court. The key is we have a lefty playing the deuce

:03:33. > :03:35.court, the forehand side, but as one of the reasons they play like that,

:03:36. > :03:46.the middle of the court has both its strengths.

:03:47. > :03:50.Good game here from Venus, lost her last service game, more positive in

:03:51. > :04:09.this situation. Venus doesn't quite have the pace of

:04:10. > :04:14.Serena on serve. It's coming from a greater height and the accuracy,

:04:15. > :04:28.every bit as good, fantastic serving, 36-year-old. We are at 5-5.

:04:29. > :04:36.It has been good serving all-round, actually.

:04:37. > :05:00.Incredibly, 82% for these guys on screen now.

:05:01. > :05:07.Had to play each other in the singles, Vesnina and Makarova. That

:05:08. > :05:30.can't have been easy. Talk about how good Serena's

:05:31. > :05:37.surveys, look at the stats for the year, Serena has 186 aces, 77 double

:05:38. > :05:59.faults, incredible conversion difference.

:06:00. > :06:10.Great athleticism for Serena to track that back and scrape that

:06:11. > :06:19.smash over but it was too weak in the end, finished off well by the

:06:20. > :06:32.Russians. They have won the Ladies' Doubles at Wimbledon five times.

:06:33. > :06:39.First time in 2000. Then in 2002, 2008, 2009, and in 2012 they won the

:06:40. > :06:44.Olympics on Centre Court. 13 Grand Slam doubles titles in total. It

:06:45. > :06:51.kind of used to be the case, when they chose to play together, they

:06:52. > :07:01.would win. And a bit of a scary proposition for any seeds playing in

:07:02. > :07:05.the draw. They still play regularly, they don't keep the world rankings

:07:06. > :07:09.up. They come in tournament is unseeded which means they could play

:07:10. > :07:46.any seed in the first round. You talked about the aces Serena

:07:47. > :07:55.hit, 186 aces, 77 double faults, incredible number. Venus 55 aces, 74

:07:56. > :08:10.double faults, just in the negative, totally different for Serena.

:08:11. > :08:20.They make it look so simple when they get that first serve in, the

:08:21. > :08:36.quality, simple pattern, they look to take the first volley.

:08:37. > :08:43.That was pretty smart in the end from Venus. But all was dropping

:08:44. > :08:49.fairly quickly, I thought she might actually drop it a little too much

:08:50. > :08:50.but she stepped forward, always best to take those kind of shots as high

:08:51. > :09:05.as possible. Was that a little walk in the park

:09:06. > :09:13.for Serena? It was a stroke, no pressure at all, was there? Steely

:09:14. > :09:19.look in her face today, Serena. Very cool and casual out here.

:09:20. > :09:23.Tie-break it is to decide the first set in this final Ladies' Doubles

:09:24. > :09:40.quarterfinal. First serve net cord kind of gives

:09:41. > :10:05.the game away. They go to plan B for this.

:10:06. > :10:12.Those moves at net have to be timed so well, if you go early, you give

:10:13. > :10:19.the game away. Look at Venus, timed it to perfection and then takes

:10:20. > :10:23.complete control. She has been the Princess of the net at the moment,

:10:24. > :10:45.all over it, that is what we need to do in this tie-break.

:10:46. > :10:54.Serena chucking her racket, just trying to work out which bit of it

:10:55. > :11:08.that hit. Was it the strings? They all count!

:11:09. > :11:13.Well... They have the mini-break, haven't they? Started off extremely

:11:14. > :11:24.well. Most of the time these matches at

:11:25. > :11:30.the top level are decided by just one or two points in the set and the

:11:31. > :11:33.better players, generally speaking, played big points better. Some way

:11:34. > :11:37.to go, yet. Or perhaps not... If Makarova cannot

:11:38. > :12:06.get these to service points. Well... Talk about reactions today?

:12:07. > :12:11.From Serena Williams... Everyone knows how good she is, right? One of

:12:12. > :12:16.the greatest if not the greatest player of all time but it's only in

:12:17. > :12:18.these kind of situations you see how good she is another department. How

:12:19. > :12:37.good her reflex is our. That did voice just gets me. I would

:12:38. > :12:43.love to hear him sing! -- deep voice.

:12:44. > :12:57.Zarina getting it wrong. Yes, he is velvety, isn't he? Let's get it

:12:58. > :13:07.on... Now is not the time for that, is it?

:13:08. > :13:14.What can you do? Nothing. This is where they shine and thrive in a

:13:15. > :13:20.tie-break because they can be so dominant with the serve, one good

:13:21. > :13:27.returning, they can break and they can lead a charge so well, just so

:13:28. > :13:32.aggressive, they can dominate. Talking about dominating, who do you

:13:33. > :13:38.think the senior partner is in the combination? Who is making the

:13:39. > :13:47.calls? I actually think Venus makes a lot of calls. You learn to be the

:13:48. > :13:49.older sister. And she was the leader when they were younger playing, I

:13:50. > :14:06.just get that sense. Great stuff from Venus and apart

:14:07. > :14:11.from that, you could tell Serena to do anything and she is one player

:14:12. > :14:19.capable of doing it so why not tell her? You know there is no fear

:14:20. > :14:25.there. Venus has got such a keen tennis mind and that comes in handy

:14:26. > :14:33.on the doubles court. They have five set points, the Williams sisters.

:14:34. > :14:46.I wonder if Venus will cut loose on the return.

:14:47. > :15:07.CHEERING Venus and Serena found another gear

:15:08. > :15:11.in that set. And they look pretty serene, don't they? Leading 1-0 set,

:15:12. > :15:17.the quarterfinal of the Ladies' Doubles. You look at the two ladies

:15:18. > :15:23.and know their personalities, to me, Venus is the more communicator,

:15:24. > :15:30.offering you see her out and about and in situations around people,

:15:31. > :15:36.Venus is a really great, happy, lovely person, I really like the way

:15:37. > :15:43.she deals with situations and I feel she can manage Serena very well,

:15:44. > :15:46.just look. The columns, Vesnina and Makarova are able to get a high

:15:47. > :15:50.percentage of first serves, the result not as good.

:15:51. > :15:57.The Williams sisters just dominating, playing a little bit

:15:58. > :16:04.heavier, consistency is deeper, enabling them to control the net a

:16:05. > :16:11.little bit more than their opponents and they are going to rise in those

:16:12. > :16:16.moments, under pressure. They are able to serve their way through

:16:17. > :16:20.matches as well, Serena's serve, the best in the world, best action, I

:16:21. > :16:26.don't think you can look past Serena Williams for another athlete that

:16:27. > :16:30.has a better serve. Do you think? Absolutely not, but serve is

:16:31. > :16:35.stronger than many men playing regularly on tour! Such a weapon,

:16:36. > :16:39.generally speaking in doubles, you take something off that first serve,

:16:40. > :16:46.the higher percentage made is more important than the speed. But when

:16:47. > :16:50.you're Serena, you have the ability to keep up the pace. You keep the

:16:51. > :17:53.accuracy and consistency. Hard to think what the spare needs

:17:54. > :17:57.to do against the Williams sisters, they might have a game plan but it's

:17:58. > :18:04.hard to come back against this pace and power. Maybe just hanging in

:18:05. > :18:11.there as best they can as part of the game plan? Yes...

:18:12. > :18:19.Just trying to keep high percentage of balls in the court, just trying

:18:20. > :18:21.to track some of these serves down and put it that gap them but it is

:18:22. > :18:56.tough. That is great play from Serena,

:18:57. > :19:02.showing again the diversity and the ability to change up and think and

:19:03. > :19:05.make smart choices. Great court awareness, she seems to know exactly

:19:06. > :19:13.where everybody is on court and the right shot to play at the right

:19:14. > :19:18.time. They will clap anything here on Court Number Two, that round of

:19:19. > :19:29.applause was for the ball being returned!

:19:30. > :19:38.Well played again, Venus, at the net. Little bit more like swatting a

:19:39. > :19:44.fly but still effective, nonetheless. It is a packed house

:19:45. > :19:49.here on Court Number Two, as you might expect, with the Williams

:19:50. > :19:55.sisters on court. We take a look around the All-England Club, that is

:19:56. > :20:00.Centre Court, the roof open, dry all day, much better second week and

:20:01. > :20:07.that is where we are, Court Number Two... Towards the bottom of the

:20:08. > :20:33.ground. She will be having a ball out here, wouldn't she? What a gag!

:20:34. > :20:43.Good doubles play this, Louise. Great play from Serena, too much

:20:44. > :21:02.room there. Use of Venus go to the left. Dissecting the opposing pair.

:21:03. > :21:10.Got to be a little bit careful when you win the first set, your

:21:11. > :21:14.confidence is high, trying to win the points quickly here. Great shot

:21:15. > :21:37.from Makarova. Great serve from Vesnina. She has

:21:38. > :21:41.had a great tournament. OK, she lost heavily to Serena in the singles

:21:42. > :21:43.earlier today. But she is coming back having dropped out of the

:21:44. > :22:00.world's top 100. The only thing that has changed, she

:22:01. > :22:07.says... Is that she got married. She got married. Really? I was just

:22:08. > :22:25.guessing! It just goes to prove, behind every great woman... LAUGHTER

:22:26. > :22:28.is a great mother! Well, it's really dad for a Li Na Vesnina. Her dad is

:22:29. > :22:33.a constant companion. So silent here on Court Number Two,

:22:34. > :23:09.very respectful, good crowd. Serena threading the needle down the

:23:10. > :23:15.line. Makarova at the net. Playing a bit of cat and mouse, is she going

:23:16. > :23:36.to go across, faking? Serena took matters into her own hands.

:23:37. > :23:48.A fifth ace. Means it is level at 1-1 games. It is a bit surprising in

:23:49. > :23:53.fact, for Vesnina, she hasn't done better in Grand Slams, the fourth

:23:54. > :23:57.round was her best performance and mumbled and back in 2009, almost a

:23:58. > :24:41.top 20 player, you think she would have had a little bit more success.

:24:42. > :24:51.Swinging volley, look how close she is to the net. You wouldn't

:24:52. > :24:58.necessarily cultured, would you? No. Number one in the world. She can

:24:59. > :25:02.play any shot she wants! You wouldn't necessarily coach it from

:25:03. > :25:09.that position but you would certainly teach it.

:25:10. > :25:20.Well done, Venus. Andre Agassi, guys like that, they brought it into

:25:21. > :25:48.their game, it has just become a part of tennis now.

:25:49. > :26:06.A nice change up from Vesnina. Keeping the Williams sisters honest.

:26:07. > :26:14.She is not convinced but... Why not? They haven't had one for a while...

:26:15. > :26:48.Well done! Got another quiz question for you...

:26:49. > :26:50.Last year, who was more successful on their challengers? Men or women?

:26:51. > :27:01.Women, for sure. 100%. Much more astute in their choices.

:27:02. > :27:18.Their eyesight... It is a good move, twice, on her

:27:19. > :27:25.forehand side, much stronger, when you are that close to the net. Can

:27:26. > :27:29.you tell us the answer? Women, but only just, 0.5% in it, ladies making

:27:30. > :27:51.307 challenges, 83 correct in 2015. Great shot from Vesnina, that is a

:27:52. > :27:57.lot of wishful thinking, a bad conversion rate from my thinking.

:27:58. > :28:04.Men made 4-5-1 challengers, 146 correct. Yes... Success rate of 27%

:28:05. > :28:07.for the ladies, 26 and a half percent for the men. The conversion

:28:08. > :28:27.rate on break points well, great play from both pairs,

:28:28. > :28:38.somehow, the Williams sisters turned defence into attack. This is what

:28:39. > :28:41.they are so good at. Speed, pace, a sense of when to dominate. That is

:28:42. > :29:13.what Serena Williams is so good at. Wicked top-spin from Venus. She

:29:14. > :29:23.threw the racket head up the back of the ball and checked back into the

:29:24. > :29:24.body of the returner. Medard were speakers it was on the backhand side

:29:25. > :29:53.for her, as a lefty. You won't see many better points

:29:54. > :30:02.than that! CHEERING

:30:03. > :30:11.Some of the Williams camp are on their feet. They know, even by their

:30:12. > :30:20.high standards, how good that was. Venus gets herself out of a sticky

:30:21. > :30:30.situation on serve. This is why doubles as a live and well, and one

:30:31. > :30:40.of the best sporting events, I think. We are biased, though, aren't

:30:41. > :30:46.we. Absolutely. What I love about tennis is that it has so many

:30:47. > :30:52.dimensions to it. The finesse, the power, the hitting, the movement.

:30:53. > :30:56.The teamwork. So many elements that come together, a kaleidoscope of

:30:57. > :31:02.things you have to work on. Even kicking your leg up in the air like

:31:03. > :31:12.that. Fantastic and only just missing down the line. Painful after

:31:13. > :31:24.a great rally like that. And to recover quickly over disappointment,

:31:25. > :31:28.look at the reaction. I love that, seeing Oracene. How many matches has

:31:29. > :31:34.she seen her daughters play over the years and she still gets such

:31:35. > :31:41.excitement at times. I have seen her snoozing sometimes as well! Credit

:31:42. > :31:43.to Makarova and Vesnina, still very much in this. Makarova is serving

:31:44. > :32:35.with new balls. It will lift. Quick assessment there

:32:36. > :32:41.from Vesnina. Those decisions have to be made in fractions of a second,

:32:42. > :32:49.you'll have to judge the flight and the spin of the ball.

:32:50. > :33:09.Not doing the I formation here, playing the traditional way. I'm

:33:10. > :33:16.glad she thinks it's funny, Venus is saying. I wonder how to use this was

:33:17. > :33:21.to Venus's head? -- I wonder how close this was. Oh, it was miles

:33:22. > :34:15.away, Venus! The Russian pair will have to throw

:34:16. > :34:25.caution to the wind soon. That is close!

:34:26. > :34:39.The ball was called out. A worthy challenge, I would have thought. A

:34:40. > :34:52.couple of millimetres. It is a game of small margins.

:34:53. > :35:02.Here's one of the cooler umpires onto a! -- on the tour. Not just

:35:03. > :35:13.that deep velvety voice, his overall demeanour. A bit of a hipster look.

:35:14. > :35:34.Too easy for Serena. She was carving up this court with angles.

:35:35. > :35:46.A little bit wild. Very close to another ace. Maybe went for too much

:35:47. > :35:53.on that second service but if you are going to serve a double, I guess

:35:54. > :36:13.at 40-0 up it is a better time than others.

:36:14. > :36:25.Look at that. Packed house. And they are being treated to some brilliant

:36:26. > :36:41.doubles. I didn't think there was a good angle here. But she found one.

:36:42. > :36:46.The move from Vesnina was not hugging the net tight enough and

:36:47. > :36:54.that gave enough space for Serena to get the ball to dip. As we said, she

:36:55. > :36:59.can pretty much do anything. She can put the ball on a string, and you

:37:00. > :37:02.have to say, the way she has come to Wimbledon this year, she is feeling

:37:03. > :37:09.very good about her tennis, I haven't seen too many hiccups in her

:37:10. > :37:16.game, her play. She's looked very comfortable on Centre Court on most

:37:17. > :37:22.occasions. I've just realised that these two have a combined age of 70!

:37:23. > :37:31.That is up fair, for doubles pairing. -- that is up there. How

:37:32. > :37:39.long did Lisa Raymond play doubles? Martina played until she was 50,

:37:40. > :37:46.almost, but she is exceptional. That is Martina. Call me Martina is a

:37:47. > :37:57.great documentary that has just been released. Good documentary on Serena

:37:58. > :38:06.as well. I'm sure it is on the iPlayer. It went out on Sunday

:38:07. > :38:11.night. A super stop volley. Everything they do from here on

:38:12. > :38:15.in-house to be so measured, Vesnina and Makarova. They are playing to

:38:16. > :38:28.stay in this set, to stay this match.

:38:29. > :38:35.That is an overrule that we don't see too often, on the far side line.

:38:36. > :39:06.Correct. No arguments. It goes to prove that you do not

:39:07. > :39:10.have to hit the ball at 100 mph to win a point, especially on the

:39:11. > :39:15.doubles court. Very clever angles and pace. Won that for the Williams

:39:16. > :39:33.sisters. They are hanging in there very well.

:39:34. > :39:38.That is all they can really do against Venus and Serena at the

:39:39. > :39:43.moment. They have to hope they will maybe get another opportunity at

:39:44. > :39:54.some point to get a break of serve, or at least take it to another

:39:55. > :39:57.tie-break. That's a good start. This is the game that they have had a

:39:58. > :40:03.little bit of success with, they have broken Venus before, so this is

:40:04. > :40:09.the one where they would be thinking they've got a chance... They got

:40:10. > :40:11.that first shot, that's positive, is working so hard to keep that ball in

:40:12. > :40:23.play, Makarova. It is a smart move. Makarova did

:40:24. > :40:51.enough to put Venus off that. Terrific placement, the long leave

:40:52. > :41:03.creates a lot of power for Venus on that one. Challenge coming. Work to

:41:04. > :41:37.do, still. This is where they wanted to put

:41:38. > :41:43.themselves, Makarova and Vesnina. Where is she going to go, though. T?

:41:44. > :41:51.The good one that she has been getting success on -- the big one?

:41:52. > :42:04.Body. Into that left hip. You have called it. Yes, complete guesswork!

:42:05. > :42:19.Another chance, this time Vesnina returning.

:42:20. > :42:28.And you would not have thought it, the way the Williams sisters have

:42:29. > :42:41.been serving but Makarova and Vesnina are one break up in the

:42:42. > :42:46.second. SUE BARKER: we will have other results to bring you for the

:42:47. > :42:56.moment, Benneteau and Roger-Vasselin are through to the final, having

:42:57. > :43:00.beaten Klaasen and Ram, in four sets, then a bit 11 seats, they beat

:43:01. > :43:03.Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares in the previous round and they are through

:43:04. > :43:08.to the final at Wimbledon. It is the first time that singles have been

:43:09. > :43:13.played in the wheelchair events and Gordon Reid has started well. He has

:43:14. > :43:18.been so excited about this, playing at Wimbledon in the singles, he was

:43:19. > :43:29.in the Royal box on the middle Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed

:43:30. > :43:33.that. He's gone through his match against Pfeifer, he won his match at

:43:34. > :43:38.the Australian Open and the Murray brothers congratulated him in the

:43:39. > :43:42.locker room. Three proud Scotsman. He is going well as well. We can

:43:43. > :43:47.update you on the Centre Court much that we watching. The number 12

:43:48. > :43:53.seats have now gone ahead, two sets to one. Herbert and Mahut are in

:43:54. > :43:58.trouble. You can watch that much on the red button. Accent we are

:43:59. > :44:06.heading back to Court No three -- you can watch that match on the red

:44:07. > :44:15.button but we are heading back to court in a bid to. COMMENTATOR: Lost

:44:16. > :44:31.the first point on this Makarova serve.

:44:32. > :44:46.Venus creating such an acute angle, easy pickings for Serena. She still

:44:47. > :44:51.had to work with the, she knew she had to close down that line, you see

:44:52. > :45:06.these steps are the best option for Makarova. And extended grant from

:45:07. > :45:10.Serena as she over hits that. -- grunt. She will be disappointed

:45:11. > :45:17.because that was an opportunity for them to lead 0-40 on the Makarova

:45:18. > :45:24.serve. Looking to break back immediately, having taken the first

:45:25. > :45:27.set on the tie-break. You feel as if she needs that first serve. It has

:45:28. > :45:49.just deserted her. You have to wonder, this is

:45:50. > :45:57.confirmation of who is the best female athlete on the planet. Serena

:45:58. > :45:58.Williams. Not easy to go sideways and up. Great vertical stretch

:45:59. > :46:20.there. A missed opportunity for Venus. And

:46:21. > :46:29.opportunity to show her lengthening skills. Just did not quite commit to

:46:30. > :46:34.it. Everyone has experienced being put off by their partner on a tennis

:46:35. > :46:48.court. I think Serena was put off by Venus's attempt.

:46:49. > :46:59.That is a matter of take that, that, and that! Great work from the

:47:00. > :47:05.Williams sisters. They moved as one. What an intimidating sight it is

:47:06. > :47:10.when these two are in full flow and approaching the net. This is where

:47:11. > :47:14.the energy really increases, just see this with the Williams sisters,

:47:15. > :47:19.they don't want to play three sets, they want to limit the amount of

:47:20. > :47:26.time they spent on court. There is no doubt that Serena would dearly

:47:27. > :47:33.love to be in the doubles final. Venus dumps are relatively

:47:34. > :47:36.straightforward volley into the net. -- a relatively straightforward

:47:37. > :47:41.volley. This is the quarterfinal. They would be work to do to get to

:47:42. > :47:43.the final if they can come through this, but Serena of course with the

:47:44. > :49:03.singles final on her mind. Another great point! Both pairs

:49:04. > :49:09.contributing. We have seen so many great exchanges, haven't we? Their

:49:10. > :49:17.ability to be so athletic and get into positions to get those

:49:18. > :49:24.defensive shots back. Venus had a chance to really put two volleys

:49:25. > :49:29.away, there, though. Now, is this an opportunity? 30-30, on the Serena

:49:30. > :49:46.serve. Second serve. Oh, no, she made a brilliant move

:49:47. > :49:54.across court and for the second time in this game, it's a relatively easy

:49:55. > :49:58.volley into the net. Just getting a little tight, that one should have

:49:59. > :50:02.been put away through the court by this mean so they were lucky to stay

:50:03. > :50:08.in this rally and then she had all sorts of space to get in there, just

:50:09. > :50:12.let that ball drop down, you've just got to keep the rocket moving

:50:13. > :50:21.forward, you don't want to let it drop. It has brought up break point

:50:22. > :50:30.for Makarova and Vesnina. Great kick-serve from Serena. But one

:50:31. > :50:36.rearing up. On the backhand side of Vesnina. So difficult to control.

:50:37. > :50:40.Absolutely, she plays a linear style so she likes to keep that racket

:50:41. > :50:44.face flat, but when getting up nice and high. -- that one getting up

:50:45. > :51:04.nice and high. This time it is the Russian pair

:51:05. > :51:08.moving as one to the net. Yeah, I like that move, very positive,

:51:09. > :51:14.moving in synchronicity, coming forwards. It looks good when they do

:51:15. > :51:27.that. Very positive. This shot here from Makarova.

:51:28. > :51:36.Such an edgy volley a from Venus. Maybe she was conscious of the two

:51:37. > :51:42.previous forehand volleys that she netted, she got it over but it was

:51:43. > :51:47.far too weak and the Russians capitalised. Interesting that, Dan,

:51:48. > :51:51.because we've talked about the fact that Venus and Serena played very

:51:52. > :51:56.little doubles. They don't get a lot of opportunities to practice their

:51:57. > :52:01.doubles skills. And we are seeing a bit of Makarova and Vesnina exposing

:52:02. > :52:05.the volleys of Venus. She is not able to punch them away. That one

:52:06. > :52:13.bounces and gives Makarova a chance to get back in this. Serena is just

:52:14. > :52:17.not able to get a racket face on it and hit a positive volley through

:52:18. > :52:20.the court but when it gets a little tight and there is tension in the

:52:21. > :52:26.match perhaps deep down Serena and Venus know they don't spend as much

:52:27. > :52:30.time working on their volleys, deep down, punching it away, as their

:52:31. > :52:35.opponents who are at their day to day, week to week, doing that and

:52:36. > :52:42.working on their doubles skills. And they have been playing well. Already

:52:43. > :52:47.in 2016 semifinal in Madrid, one final in Rome, and they lost in the

:52:48. > :52:51.final of the French Open, Makarova and Vesnina, a quarterfinal in the

:52:52. > :52:55.warm up event in Eastbourne, on the grass and they were the runners-up

:52:56. > :53:00.at Wimbledon last year, losing to Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza.

:53:01. > :53:08.Serving for the second set against the Williams sisters. Maybe this

:53:09. > :53:17.would be a bit of revenge for Vesnina after that singles

:53:18. > :53:40.semifinal. She won't get it done like that, though, will she?

:53:41. > :53:46.This is the best opportunity they are going to get to try to close out

:53:47. > :53:54.the set. They will not want to go into a tie-break. Vesnina can hold

:53:55. > :54:10.serve we are in for a big match. -- if she can hold serve.

:54:11. > :54:19.I do believe that is Elena Vesnina's husband on the right in the blue

:54:20. > :54:21.shirt. A proud man, she says this is the reason why she has improved her

:54:22. > :54:44.tennis. SUE BARKER:. It is not easy to

:54:45. > :54:53.change the flight of the ball when it is coming past. -- Pawel

:54:54. > :54:59.Tabuntsov. May be some nervy times now and the Vesnina shot. But she

:55:00. > :55:04.did not panic. And crucially after a great return from Serena, putting

:55:05. > :55:09.her on the back foot, she dealt with it well, better than that, she had a

:55:10. > :55:14.winner. This is a bit of the thought process when she was frustrated and

:55:15. > :55:18.angry with herself for not going down the line, she committed early.

:55:19. > :55:35.Set point them, to level it up. That defies all physics and logic.

:55:36. > :55:43.With two hands on the racket and a bit of top-spin, how did she make

:55:44. > :55:50.this? This is almost Inspector Gadget, a lengthening of the arms, a

:55:51. > :56:15.little flick of the wrist. How key might that be? One set point saved.

:56:16. > :56:23.That was a brave second serve. Encouragement. Maybe it is needed.

:56:24. > :56:45.Win this point and it is one set all.

:56:46. > :57:11.Smiles all around. And don't they deserve it? We are going to a

:57:12. > :57:19.decider. They are just taking a sigh of relief, they are wondering, how

:57:20. > :57:24.do we get into that match and how do we win that second set. Terrific

:57:25. > :57:29.performance there. Look at the Williams sisters, those numbers have

:57:30. > :57:37.dropped considerably. From the first set, that's a great number of first

:57:38. > :57:41.serves for the Russian pair, it's the conversion number that is solid.

:57:42. > :57:46.Working really hard on their returns. I think that is the main

:57:47. > :57:52.area where they have been able to just get on top in this second set,

:57:53. > :57:57.the returns, the returns have really improved for Makarova and Vesnina.

:57:58. > :58:03.Again, it is just the ability to stay positive under pressure, and to

:58:04. > :58:07.turn this around, they had to swallow some disappointment, they

:58:08. > :58:13.did not play a great tie-break in the first set but look at this

:58:14. > :58:20.angle, great legs from Vesnina. I love that. Her ability to work hard,

:58:21. > :58:25.stay really physical, and again, just the positivity has turned this

:58:26. > :58:30.match for them. It does not matter how long you have been playing this

:58:31. > :58:36.game, it does not matter how big stage it is, how many great shots

:58:37. > :58:52.you have hit, when you hit one like that, the feeling is like no other.

:58:53. > :59:04.For everybody. Pawel, the husband of Elena Vesnina. Sergei, his dad. It's

:59:05. > :59:09.an occasion that the whole family gets immersed in. Sometimes more

:59:10. > :59:15.difficult to watch than to play. Venus serving to kick off the final

:59:16. > :59:20.set. I am surprised that Venus is serving first. I would have reversed

:59:21. > :59:23.that. To keep the same ends, I would have had Serena serving first if I

:59:24. > :59:42.was the team leader. They have moved fairly quickly to

:59:43. > :59:52.30-0 so I think it was a good decision. I have been wrong before,

:59:53. > :59:58.Dan. No! And Mac just the once. That is what you think. Just another

:59:59. > :00:04.level of intensity and focus from Serena. She wants out of you

:00:05. > :00:18.quickly. -- she wants out of here quickly.

:00:19. > :00:27.Venus did a great job of keeping the ball download onto the shoelaces of

:00:28. > :00:32.Vesnina. She could not control the ball. The first game of the third

:00:33. > :00:35.set to the Williams sisters. I might have been wrong in that situation,

:00:36. > :00:40.if she was first in the rotation, she will serve more often, as we

:00:41. > :00:45.track down this match, under pressure, whose serve out of the

:00:46. > :00:48.Williams sisters would you say is more susceptible to being shaky?

:00:49. > :01:01.Given the fact that the nurse has been broken once, Serena Nunn. I do

:01:02. > :01:07.see what you are saying. You played a lot more Ladies' Doubles than I

:01:08. > :01:12.did! You never looked so good in a skirt! First serves needed for the

:01:13. > :01:44.Russians. The crowd are absolutely loving this

:01:45. > :01:50.match. It is a full house here, packed, great energy around,

:01:51. > :01:56.everyone fully engaged. The Williams sisters are such a great draw but

:01:57. > :02:05.given the fact that the Russian pair are playing so well, they are even

:02:06. > :02:07.more into it. UMPIRE:

:02:08. > :02:21.Miss Williams challenging on the left near sideline, ball was called

:02:22. > :02:24.in. Just wide... There or two Hawk-eyes out here, Serena Williams

:02:25. > :03:02.certainly has a pair! Spoken a lot about the experience of

:03:03. > :03:04.the Williams sisters but Vesnina on a double scored, 12 titles over the

:03:05. > :03:26.last 11 years. The only other thing that Serena

:03:27. > :03:33.could have done in that point was hit the last volley because she was

:03:34. > :03:39.everywhere. She covers the court. This was phenomenal, to be able to

:03:40. > :03:43.get that. There was a great lob but Venus missing on the forehand

:03:44. > :03:49.volley, the older sisters struggling a little.

:03:50. > :04:00.That is better! She needed that. You see the difference in the way she

:04:01. > :04:05.approached this volley? Tracks towards the net. Much more positive,

:04:06. > :04:41.doesn't let that all drop, that is the key.

:04:42. > :04:48.Just sheer talent, didn't even have to move her feet, just leans out of

:04:49. > :04:49.the way to give herself a bit of room, the middle of the racket.

:04:50. > :05:14.Unplayable. Not sure what she was gesturing, she

:05:15. > :05:19.did not like the bounce... You get some bad answers on these courts. --

:05:20. > :05:38.bad bounces. That time the swinging top-spin

:05:39. > :05:50.volley getting Serena into a spot of bother. Well played. Elena Vesnina.

:05:51. > :06:01.1-1 games. Vesnina's first doubles title on the WTA Tour back in 2005.

:06:02. > :06:07.She has won doubles with a number of players. And so far, five titles

:06:08. > :06:22.with Makarova. Not sure that was where traffic

:06:23. > :06:54.should have been directed, straight at the forehand of Venus.

:06:55. > :07:18.Serena's coach... Patrick. With his game face.

:07:19. > :07:25.Vesnina may be trying to do too much in that rally. Got to be a little

:07:26. > :07:27.bit careful of that, putting pressure on yourself, start making

:07:28. > :07:50.bad choices. Just taking her time on her serve,

:07:51. > :08:24.Serena. Just a little flat-footed on that

:08:25. > :08:27.occasion. On the odd occasion, when the ball is slower, she doesn't

:08:28. > :08:31.sometimes quite get up into the court, gets passive. She has gifted

:08:32. > :09:03.two points to her opponents. Amazing! That might have team the

:09:04. > :09:07.easiest shot anyone had to play in the rally.

:09:08. > :09:15.CHEERING Venus... Was everywhere! Credit to

:09:16. > :09:31.Vesnina and Makarova. Good feeling after a low point, lose

:09:32. > :09:42.the point, you can come up with a serve like that. 117.

:09:43. > :09:52.Nice if you have got it in your locker, isn't it? Money in the bank,

:09:53. > :10:01.you have got to spend it. Keep their noses in front.

:10:02. > :10:12.There's been enough break rallies in this match to fill two or three

:10:13. > :10:22.highlight reels. But that reaction there... Is just super! That is

:10:23. > :10:27.actually a decent volley, well played to Makarova to cover that,

:10:28. > :10:32.the middle ground. And then you have to deal with Serena coming forward,

:10:33. > :10:37.on top of the net, she has control, a difficult shot, needs to keep

:10:38. > :10:45.another step forward, just a couple of little steps, adjustment, to get

:10:46. > :10:47.into a better position but great point... Giving these girls a real

:10:48. > :11:10.charge. It is a pro-Williams crowd, as you

:11:11. > :11:18.might expect. As it has been for so many years at Wimbledon. The Russian

:11:19. > :11:23.pair winning yet more fancier on Court Number Two.

:11:24. > :11:31.They are looking to go one better than they did last year. When they

:11:32. > :11:56.lost in the final. They have got their work cut out.

:11:57. > :12:08.Well... Good covering here. Just the understanding of where to move,

:12:09. > :12:19.Serena takes off, look at the way Venus covers, perfect, plays a lot

:12:20. > :12:22.of doubles. She gets a little bit more time on court for doubles.

:12:23. > :13:11.Please more team tennis. Well inside the baseline to return.

:13:12. > :13:16.And she just couldn't get out of the way quick enough. Good serve, it has

:13:17. > :13:25.to be said. If you are going to be that close up to the service line,

:13:26. > :13:43.you have got to have quick feet. You can feel the tension building.

:13:44. > :13:50.Good communicating from Serena, playing extremely well, helping out

:13:51. > :13:54.Venus. So important for that stress and decision-making, just to hear a

:13:55. > :14:28.clear instruction and this was Serena. Good play.

:14:29. > :14:37.You could see that coming. CHEERING

:14:38. > :14:43.The standard is getting higher and higher in this Ladies' Doubles. This

:14:44. > :14:47.is one of the best doubles matches I have seen in a long time. So many

:14:48. > :14:50.points are being finished with winners. They have all brought there

:14:51. > :15:13.are a games. Just good to see Serena breathing a

:15:14. > :15:35.little hard, she is feeling the emotion, feeling the moment.

:15:36. > :15:43.The crowd have played their part in this as well. It was packed before

:15:44. > :15:50.these players came out onto Court Number Two. The Mexican wave was

:15:51. > :15:59.going. Everybody in good spirits and they have been richly rewarded.

:16:00. > :16:08.6:45pm. One hour and 45 played, they cannot be separated.

:16:09. > :16:25.It went sideways. You can see this awkward bounce. The left to right

:16:26. > :16:40.swing from Vesnina having an effect on the grass.

:16:41. > :16:48.LAUGHTER grants, screams and squeals on Court Number Two. That is cute,

:16:49. > :17:20.Serena looked at Venus and said, I am sorry!

:17:21. > :17:26.We talked about that moment of perhaps, pressure, the miss being

:17:27. > :17:32.the first in the rotation of service. I want to remind you of

:17:33. > :17:49.that. It is going to be a difficult situation for Venus.

:17:50. > :18:00.Really short second serve. She is not going to like how that felt,

:18:01. > :18:01.coming off the racket. You heard the really big swing on that, smooth. A

:18:02. > :18:40.chance. A wayward ball... She is getting away with it, Venus.

:18:41. > :18:44.All they had to do was bring a little bit more pressure. She is

:18:45. > :19:11.feeling it. Needed to just make those two returns.

:19:12. > :19:23.CHEERING A big cheer at companies that

:19:24. > :19:29.winning forehand volley. The scoreboard takes over, 3-2.

:19:30. > :19:41.Playing for a lot of money. In this match alone. The losing

:19:42. > :19:51.quarterfinalists share ?44,000. The losing semifinalists share ?88,000.

:19:52. > :20:00.Pretty sure that neither Serena naughtiness will worry too much

:20:01. > :20:10.about the prize money. Venus has amassed $33 million. In prize money

:20:11. > :20:16.over her career, Serena 77 and a half million pounds... I beg your

:20:17. > :20:24.pardon, dollars. A ridiculous amount of money. But I guess it's something

:20:25. > :20:30.else they should be praised for. The love they have for the sport, is

:20:31. > :20:36.instilled at the very early age by Richard, their dad and coach and

:20:37. > :20:41.their mother but they have so obviously maintained that love of

:20:42. > :20:46.the sport. Yes. Here they are at 34 and 36, playing their Hearts out to

:20:47. > :20:52.make a semifinal in the Ladies' Doubles. Such great ambassadors for

:20:53. > :21:08.the sport. Yes, its resilience at its best.

:21:09. > :21:15.They have certainly both faced a lot of challenges in the sport with

:21:16. > :21:36.injuries, Serena cutting her fit, she has had quite a few challenges.

:21:37. > :21:44.Not to mention the family problems, the shooting of the sister, a

:21:45. > :21:57.horrible thing for them to have to go through. And the media scrutiny.

:21:58. > :22:09.Having to live in the limelight. For 15 years plus.

:22:10. > :22:18.Taking a wider starting point for the second serve. Didn't serve her

:22:19. > :22:22.well. Can be a little bit off-putting when you are playing a

:22:23. > :22:27.first serve and you miss it from one point in the baseline and then you

:22:28. > :22:32.move... Well bad extra two feet was almost the reason why she pulled

:22:33. > :22:40.down into the net. Did not judge it well.

:22:41. > :22:54.She has got it! CHEERING

:22:55. > :22:58.It sometimes feels like Serena is trying to prove all those doubters

:22:59. > :23:06.that dumping she is the greatest ever. She comes up with stuff like

:23:07. > :23:08.that! They are all on this side of the court, great hands. Nice little

:23:09. > :23:26.dig, nicely put away. A break point that has gone begging.

:23:27. > :23:30.Good serve, been very impressed with macaroon and Vesnina, especially the

:23:31. > :23:34.way they played under pressure. -- Makarova. They have been under an

:23:35. > :23:57.awful lot. No... That has pushed long, she

:23:58. > :24:05.knew... She would have to keep it deep to stop Venus attacking it. But

:24:06. > :24:10.that was too deep. She hands the break to the Williams sisters. I was

:24:11. > :24:15.just thinking, really, what was going to come back from the racket

:24:16. > :24:17.of Venus, you have to focus on the job in hand, keeping the return out

:24:18. > :24:38.of your mind. If you had five Aussie dollars to

:24:39. > :24:43.put on this match... It has got to go WW.

:24:44. > :25:52.Three aces in a row. They love it! One game away from the semifinals.

:25:53. > :26:00.This match has had everything, hasn't it? It has been played at

:26:01. > :26:04.such a high level. The skills that have been shown out here today, it's

:26:05. > :26:09.not just about big serving and big hitting that we often see and we

:26:10. > :26:13.attach a little bit to the Williams sisters, we have seen everything.

:26:14. > :26:20.And it's been so enjoyable to watch but the level they have had to lift

:26:21. > :26:25.after losing that second set, you sort the Williams sisters increase

:26:26. > :26:30.their intensity, focus and ability to lift. It has been remarkable to

:26:31. > :26:43.watch, a lot of fun, some great exchanges. Just reminded so often

:26:44. > :26:55.why they have held the torch so long in women's tennis on the WTA Tour.

:26:56. > :27:04.Court Number Two just four minutes away from 7pm. The 11th day's play,

:27:05. > :27:06.if you count the Sunday that we have. The only place to be at

:27:07. > :27:44.Wimbledon. Kind of stating the obvious. They

:27:45. > :27:46.really need to stay positive, first serves in particular, help the

:27:47. > :28:16.cause. The amount of reflex volleys that

:28:17. > :28:22.Serena has picked up today and Venus, at times, as well. Serena has

:28:23. > :28:30.just been remarkable, the glue for the Williams sisters. Outstanding.

:28:31. > :28:34.Just feeling good, obviously, coming off the back of the semifinals went.

:28:35. > :28:40.Sometimes when you win a singles match it makes it easier for things

:28:41. > :28:44.in the doubles. Especially when the lady you beat in the singles is in

:28:45. > :28:50.the doubles... That is just wide. Serena knows it. They do have three

:28:51. > :29:11.challenges available. Still. Good serve. 91 miles an hour. Don't

:29:12. > :29:16.know whether the line made a difference. Tough bounce, reared up,

:29:17. > :29:52.straight into the torso of Venus. Such a tough shot to play, high

:29:53. > :29:58.bouncing ball, very little pace on it but Serena Williams made it look

:29:59. > :30:17.easy. It brings up their first match point.

:30:18. > :30:32.UMPIRE: game, set, match, Miss Williams and Miss Williams. They are

:30:33. > :30:40.the unseeded pair. But for most people here on Court Number Two...

:30:41. > :30:47.They are the favourites. That was a truly wonderful Ladies' Doubles, one

:30:48. > :30:53.by the Williams sisters, into another semifinal. Congratulations

:30:54. > :31:00.to Vesnina and Makarova. For contributing as much as they did. It

:31:01. > :31:04.has been a good day for Serena. Singles win and the doubles win. I

:31:05. > :31:10.think we must probably feels a little bit better herself.

:31:11. > :31:15.SUE BARKER: you would not bet against them winning six doubles

:31:16. > :31:21.title at Wimbledon. The Williams sisters through to the last four.

:31:22. > :31:25.Big crowds on Court Number Two enjoying that one and on Centre

:31:26. > :31:34.Court enjoying this men's semifinals in the doubles, it is in the fifth

:31:35. > :31:39.and final set. Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi are two games up in the fifth

:31:40. > :31:43.set. If you want to watch that it is on the red button. We are going to

:31:44. > :31:49.another one court for a Mixed Doubles, the third round and there

:31:50. > :31:53.is have a Watson of Britain with her partner Kontinen, playing another 16

:31:54. > :32:01.seeds, the defending champions, Leander Paes and Martina Hingis.

:32:02. > :32:08.Martina Hingis and Leander Paes are leading by one set, although Heather

:32:09. > :32:13.and Henri Kontinen are leading in the second. And they have broken.

:32:14. > :32:17.COMMENTATOR: You join us at a very appropriate moment, as they break

:32:18. > :32:24.the serve of Leander Paes to take the lead, 4-2. Henri Kontinen from

:32:25. > :32:28.Finland and Heather Watson, they were outplayed in the first set and

:32:29. > :32:39.lost the first three games but they are playing a lot better now.

:32:40. > :32:45.Against the defending champions who have won four of the last five Mixed

:32:46. > :32:49.Doubles major titles. Last year they won everywhere except the French

:32:50. > :32:51.Open at Roland Garros and this year they have won the French Open at

:32:52. > :33:08.Roland Garros. In a way it was ashamed that Heather

:33:09. > :33:13.and Henri made such a slow start, they were getting to know each other

:33:14. > :33:18.after two walkovers in the opening rounds and they smiled and sauntered

:33:19. > :33:23.onto court and quickly Paes and Hingis went into a lead, by three

:33:24. > :33:29.games and that was good enough for that first set. That's a shot of how

:33:30. > :33:36.the's mother, Michelle, who comes from Papua New Guinea originally. --

:33:37. > :34:05.shot of Heather Watson's mother. There we are.

:34:06. > :34:10.Martina Hingis has already tasted defeat in the women's doubles on

:34:11. > :34:14.this court today when she and Sania Mirza, the top seeds, lost to

:34:15. > :34:56.Shvedova and Timea Babos. It has been all smiles so far from

:34:57. > :35:02.Paes and Hingis, it is just starting to get serious now, Leander always

:35:03. > :35:05.so opportunist on the doubles court. 43 years of age, now. That is a

:35:06. > :35:31.great volley. If you were wondering why these two

:35:32. > :35:37.are playing Mixed Doubles together, a man from Finland and a British

:35:38. > :35:42.girl, I suspect it is to do with Henri Kontinen's coach, Chris Eaton,

:35:43. > :35:48.I suspect he was the matchmaker in terms of Mixed Doubles! Or they

:35:49. > :35:53.contacted each other by social media, I don't think they spoke to

:35:54. > :35:57.each other before at all in terms of arranging these link ups but this

:35:58. > :36:02.into get on well, the chemistry is important, you have to like your

:36:03. > :36:06.partner, it is so important for the man to make the woman feel as if he

:36:07. > :36:16.is not going to do everything but he is there to be extremely supportive

:36:17. > :36:21.and not to tut when you miss a volley something. Both of these men

:36:22. > :36:23.do that brilliantly, particularly Leander Paes because Martina can get

:36:24. > :36:52.a little down on herself. Early on he was really struggling

:36:53. > :36:58.with his returns, Kontinen. Suddenly he has started to make eight few. He

:36:59. > :37:04.was like a bull in a china shop to start with, just taking massive cuts

:37:05. > :37:10.at them. And it was Heather Watson that was steadying the ship. That is

:37:11. > :37:20.one of the very few returns she has missed, this evening.

:37:21. > :37:29.I did not really want him to illustrate the ball in the china

:37:30. > :38:01.shop, and! Exhibit A! He has a big game, Kontinen.

:38:02. > :38:09.So, the key game, now. Henri Kontinen will serve for the second

:38:10. > :38:13.set. He is right on the 35 in the world in doubles and reached the

:38:14. > :38:19.doubles event here with John Pierce, who once partnered Jamie Murray to

:38:20. > :38:33.the final last year, they won two doubles titles together this year,

:38:34. > :38:39.Kontinen and Peers. Come on, you can't have a giggle with your coach

:38:40. > :38:40.when you serving for the set! Just a little hold-up. Leander Paes getting

:38:41. > :38:58.a freshly strung bracket. -- racket. These two might just be kicking

:38:59. > :39:03.themselves because they had great momentum coming out of that first

:39:04. > :39:07.set and Kontinen and Watson did so well to stop them in their tracks.

:39:08. > :39:23.You've still got to invest in this set.

:39:24. > :39:30.A 124 mph ace, the days when the men would take a little pace off the

:39:31. > :39:32.ball when serving to a lady have long gone. And that has not been his

:39:33. > :40:45.fastest! Big serve kicking up wide to Hingis.

:40:46. > :40:50.Two set points. They are challenging the call. They are having a

:40:51. > :41:08.challenge, here. Game and second set, Kontinen and

:41:09. > :41:12.Miss Watson. It's a terrific effort from Kontinen and Heather Watson to

:41:13. > :41:18.claim that second set, having been blown away at the start of the

:41:19. > :41:22.match. They have done well, also their tactics, halfway through the

:41:23. > :41:27.first set they thought we have to get Leander off the centre of the

:41:28. > :41:31.court. They have started taking returns down the line. They have

:41:32. > :41:37.gone aerial as well. It is a different situation for Paes and

:41:38. > :41:41.Hingis because normally around the world, wherever they play, they are

:41:42. > :41:47.the darlings of the crowd. But there is a British player out here. And

:41:48. > :41:51.everyone has had a few... A view corks popping up, that's what I is

:41:52. > :41:57.there, everyone is having a nice time, this crowd will pull for

:41:58. > :42:06.cover. -- that's what I said there. This crowd will be pulling for

:42:07. > :42:09.Heather Watson. Much more opportunistic, they did not take all

:42:10. > :42:14.the break point opportunities in the first set but and is more than that,

:42:15. > :42:21.they look like a team now. In the first set it was all, hello, how are

:42:22. > :42:25.you, where do you come from? Who are you? It could have been very much

:42:26. > :42:30.like that. They seem to be getting on famously. Watson, so solid, this

:42:31. > :42:33.will be great preparation for her at the Olympics if she plays in the

:42:34. > :42:39.Mixed Doubles as well as the singles and the women's doubles. They are

:42:40. > :42:46.playing one of the best teams there has ever been in Paes and Hingis.

:42:47. > :42:52.Leander Paes has won this title four times. The first was back in 1999

:42:53. > :42:57.with Lisa Raymond and then with Martina Navratilova in 2003, with

:42:58. > :43:03.Cara Black from Zimbabwe in 2010 and last year of course with Hingis. And

:43:04. > :43:09.he is only the third man in Open tennis history which began in 1968

:43:10. > :43:15.to win all four Men's Doubles majors and all four Mixed Doubles majors.

:43:16. > :43:24.The other two are Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge, the Woody 's.

:43:25. > :43:30.Taking a drink, the father of Leander Paes, who was a member of

:43:31. > :43:36.the Indian hockey team in the 1972 Munich Olympics. They won the bronze

:43:37. > :43:43.medal, as did his son in the singles competition in Atlanta, in the 1996

:43:44. > :43:47.Olympic Games. It's easy to forget what a good singles player Leander

:43:48. > :43:52.was. He was of my generation and was the best junior in the world, I'm

:43:53. > :43:57.pretty sure that he won the junior title here. He had a fine career. I

:43:58. > :44:05.did not think he would still be playing now but he loves it. In 1990

:44:06. > :44:10.he won the junior Boys' Singles. And if he came back onto the court we

:44:11. > :44:16.could talk about him even more! A vacant court with Paes and Hingis

:44:17. > :44:25.limping off for a bathroom break. Heather herself a Grand Slam

:44:26. > :44:38.champion in the juniors, back in 2009. Martina Hingis won the French

:44:39. > :44:45.and ridiculous age of 13. It is a competition for people and 18! --

:44:46. > :44:50.she won the French junior title at the ridiculous age of 13.

:44:51. > :45:06.Final set. Paes to serve. In the chair, the umpire is from Spain, you

:45:07. > :45:38.cannot quite get the pronunciation of the name Paes right. Brilliant.

:45:39. > :45:55.Getting his instructions from his partner.

:45:56. > :46:02.Interesting, this time it is for Paes and Hingis to try to work

:46:03. > :46:07.things out, the body forehand to Heather Watson, she has been

:46:08. > :46:13.returning so well off a stronger side, the backhand. Of course Paes

:46:14. > :46:18.and Hingis will not have known a lot about them today. -- about their

:46:19. > :46:38.opponents today. formation, but she was not in the

:46:39. > :47:10.standard position either. Hasn't missed many of those backhand

:47:11. > :47:16.returns, Heather Watson. Know she is not eating so many, harder to pick

:47:17. > :47:19.them off. And also the fact that Paes and Hingis are constantly

:47:20. > :47:37.switching their positions is a distraction. Yours, partner.

:47:38. > :47:45.That is a terrific early evening match to round up the court in a one

:47:46. > :47:50.programme. Smiles all round for the players and in the crowd. We know

:47:51. > :47:56.who you are supporting tomorrow. Roger Federer and Milos Raonic

:47:57. > :48:01.first! It is funny because you have to try to relax and enjoy it and be

:48:02. > :48:07.serious at the same time. I fear we are a long way from Heather and

:48:08. > :48:14.Martina chatting over the coin toss, chatting about their respective

:48:15. > :48:50.outfits. We now the nitty-gritty. -- we are now at the nitty-gritty.

:48:51. > :48:57.Such a nightmare when you see Paes moving across, always gets in your

:48:58. > :49:04.eye line, that's what he's trying to do, trying to dominate this match

:49:05. > :49:15.with his movement and his personality.

:49:16. > :49:26.I do not see anything to be gained by staying back behind your serve,

:49:27. > :49:29.Kontinen. There is a lot more movement from the defending

:49:30. > :49:33.champions than from this pair. But might be the deciding factor. --

:49:34. > :49:53.that might be the deciding factor. Brilliant. I don't know if you

:49:54. > :50:00.picked this up but just before Martina hit that ball, Paes said,

:50:01. > :50:02.watch your line, so she shifted immediately and as a result they won

:50:03. > :50:30.the point. He is a genius. Lost his opening service game of the

:50:31. > :50:34.match Kontinen and that set the tone for this first set so this break

:50:35. > :50:47.point is crucial even though it is so early in the final set.

:50:48. > :50:55.Seven aces from Kontinen and Watson, a couple of those contributed by

:50:56. > :51:32.Heather. He was waving it goodbye, not trying

:51:33. > :51:37.to get at it! These two have now learned your lesson, if you are

:51:38. > :51:40.going to go at Martina at the net, not a brilliant idea, make sure the

:51:41. > :51:56.ball is going right to her feet because her hands are so good.

:51:57. > :52:05.A very important hold for Kontinen. He was born in Helsinki but actually

:52:06. > :52:38.lives in Tallinn, in Estonia. Won ten Mixed Doubles title in

:52:39. > :52:41.total, Leander Paes, all of them Grand Slam titles because it is only

:52:42. > :52:47.at the majors that they play Mixed Doubles.

:52:48. > :53:01.Oh! So close. This is so good for Heather. Struggled more recently in

:53:02. > :53:05.singles and has not had the grass court season she would have liked

:53:06. > :53:11.but being at this level playing with the best in the world, superb photo.

:53:12. > :53:14.Just getting a good feeling about her tennis again. Rusher it is super

:53:15. > :53:35.for her. The umpire is still saying "Pies"

:53:36. > :53:42.rather than Paes. He's still thinking about his supper. Perhaps

:53:43. > :53:48.we should text him. He is a fixture on the tour. Is he not often voted

:53:49. > :53:55.the most handsome umpire? You might say that, I could not comment! The

:53:56. > :54:03.unofficial sexiest umpire poll, I think he is top. So this is what you

:54:04. > :54:09.women get up to? Who is the best looking umpire? I suspect that I

:54:10. > :54:13.never qualified when I was doing it. You sense, though, as you did, that

:54:14. > :54:22.these two have now got their game face on. For a set and a half this

:54:23. > :54:27.was great fun. When Martina first came back it was hit and yield and

:54:28. > :54:31.she did not have a lot of expectation and then she started

:54:32. > :54:35.winning all these grand slam titles. I've noticed this season defending

:54:36. > :54:39.the women's titles and the mixed she is a little more uptight. She is at

:54:40. > :54:45.her best, it is a bonus for her playing here after all the success

:54:46. > :54:58.that she has had, it is a bonus when she is relaxed.

:54:59. > :55:02.Had a decent run in the women's doubles, Heather Watson, with Naomi

:55:03. > :55:21.Broady, they got to the third round. It helps when you have a partner who

:55:22. > :55:55.stands six foot three! This is a game that is really

:55:56. > :56:00.targeting that, I would not be surprised to see Paes make a massive

:56:01. > :56:06.move if Martina can make the return. Where Heather wants to start serving

:56:07. > :56:16.is kick out wide to Hingis. Get it up above shoulder height to the

:56:17. > :56:22.Swiss. Not really supposed to serve there! Hingis not getting her

:56:23. > :56:25.return, normally she gets her return over to the tramlines. That was a

:56:26. > :57:07.gamble that just about paid off. So the first round of serving

:57:08. > :57:34.complete in final set. And no brakes. -- no break of serve.

:57:35. > :57:41.From being quite one-sided and being outplayed, these two, this is an

:57:42. > :57:46.even contest. I suspect that the result will hinge on whether Henri

:57:47. > :58:15.can get these returns in court. Heather making her return. It is not

:58:16. > :58:20.raining, is it? Oh, no, no! You cannot busy readers. It's not going

:58:21. > :58:28.to rain on our parade. -- you can't be serious. I did hear from Carol

:58:29. > :58:37.this morning. It's a possibility. What a shame. Codes are going on,

:58:38. > :58:45.umbrellas are going up, the umpire is coming down -- coats are going

:58:46. > :58:50.on. Is it getting slippery? That's the trouble with a grass court, as

:58:51. > :58:56.soon as it starts getting wet it is like an ice rink. More and more

:58:57. > :59:01.brollies going up. What a shame, with this match perfectly poised!

:59:02. > :59:10.They are not going off, that is the good news. They are going to hang on

:59:11. > :59:16.a little bit. It is not looking good at the moment. More and more

:59:17. > :59:31.brollies. It has started to pour. It's really coming down now.

:59:32. > :59:40.I wonder whether brollies had gone by the side of the court, they were

:59:41. > :59:48.omnipresent, the first week. -- I wondered whether brollies had gone.

:59:49. > :59:54.I think the verdict is at the moment, hang on a minute, we hope it

:59:55. > :59:59.will just be a little shower. They are not bringing the covers on. It

:00:00. > :00:06.would be such a shame if they had to come off right now. Also a lot of

:00:07. > :00:13.the fans that had stayed, they would probably head home and call it a

:00:14. > :00:20.day. Hopefully those clouds will clear, pass over us, clearly in the

:00:21. > :00:22.distance clear spells, the trouble is, if the court gets damp it does

:00:23. > :00:39.get very slippery. Drainage on the court is fabulous,

:00:40. > :00:43.they have been baked for its Sundays, they could do with a drop

:00:44. > :00:49.of water to make it through the last few days.

:00:50. > :01:01.Denisa Parnell... The assistant referee or one of the assistant

:01:02. > :01:28.referees... No doubt talking to Andrew Jarrett, the referee.

:01:29. > :01:43.You may have picked up Denise saying we will give it another minute...

:01:44. > :01:49.Denisa does this job at the Birmingham tournament a couple of

:01:50. > :01:56.weeks before Wimbledon, she was on and off throughout that week. David,

:01:57. > :02:01.you used to be an umpire, this brushing the court with the umpire,

:02:02. > :02:06.do they teach that at referee school? In those days, we had no say

:02:07. > :02:11.at all, we were told you are stopping or you are continuing.

:02:12. > :02:18.CHEERING Great news, we are continuing!

:02:19. > :02:26.Well... The court has been given a clean bill of health. UMPIRE: please

:02:27. > :02:29.take your seats quickly, thank you. Tricky time for Leander Paes and

:02:30. > :03:00.Martina Hingis to have a break. Interesting change-up from Paes,

:03:01. > :03:17.took a lot of pace off that serve, a lot of top-spin.

:03:18. > :03:43.So many times you have got to finish off Paes and Hingis. Brilliant!

:03:44. > :04:01.Break point after the longest rally of the match.

:04:02. > :04:08.It was out, Paes does not realise, he thinks he has made it but the

:04:09. > :04:28.umpire has called game. Well now... The defending champions

:04:29. > :04:34.inconsiderable strife. All of a sudden, Watson and Kontinen playing

:04:35. > :04:37.well, super relaxed, the first time they have been in front for the

:04:38. > :04:45.entire match after looking pretty much outplayed in their opening set.

:04:46. > :04:51.This was the last point. Just not able to get it off Watson's account

:04:52. > :04:54.for it is a world-class shot and it has been the bedrock of this new

:04:55. > :05:23.fund team. Given the result of the referendum,

:05:24. > :05:27.we are a new -- looking for new alliances, aren't we? Don't get all

:05:28. > :05:35.political on me, David! I promise not. Gosh, that kept so low.

:05:36. > :05:45.Of the two men, he has got the much bigger serve and he can serve...

:05:46. > :05:52.That was 130, he can serve faster than that. Considering he was broken

:05:53. > :05:56.in his opening service game, the second game of the match, he has