Venus too hot for Radwanska

Venus Williams takes off during her quarter-final match against Agnieszka Radwanska.

Another stroll in the Wimbledon sunshine carried Venus Williams past opposition that varied between the overawed and the inadequate and into the semi-finals of the 2009 Championships. The latest victim was Agnieszka Radwanska, the 20-year-old Pole seeded 11th, who managed to retrieve three games from the carnage as Venus won 6-1, 6-2 in 68 minutes. It is the eighth time the five-time winner has reached the last four, and on seven occasions she went though to the final. Once more, it was all so simple for Venus, who made light of the strapping she wears on her left knee by running down every short ball or dropshot that arrived on her side of the net. Like the previous four Williams opponents in this year's tournament, Radwanska was a set down almost before she had realised the match was under way. Perhaps she was baffled at the sudden Venus departure from No.1 Court after the warm-up and before the match began. But Venus came back primed and professional, dropping just two points in four service games. Radwanska was 5-0 down in 17 minutes before deciding to combat the bludgeoning power of Williams with some thumping efforts of her own. Rather balatedly the spectators were lifted from their torpor and treated to some strenuous rallies, though Radwanska was still a set behind 10 minutes later as Williams arrowed successive aces past the Pole. Radwanska's greater commitment and application managed to make more of a match of it briefly in the second set and she profited from a spell of loose Williams tennis in which the defending champion dropped serve to love on three errors. But Venus has never been slow to heed a wake-up call and from a deficit of 0-2 she swept imperiously through the next six games, capturing the Radswanska serve seemingly at will. If her radar had seemed a little wonky at the start of that second set, Venus had assembled her intimidating armoury well before the end and gave it an undemanding workout in the sunshine. The only time she appeared put out was when umpire Kader Nouni overruled what she clearly thought was a winner. Though Venus did not bother with a challenge, her judgment was shown by television to be correct. Court 1 - Ladies' Singles - Quarterfinals Venus Williams USA (3) 6 6 Agnieszka Radwanska POL (11) 1 2

Radwanska sees off Peng fightback

Agnieszka Radwanska Agnieszka Radwanska booked her place in the third round after emerging triumphant from an epic three-hour encounter that swung more ways than an acrobat against China’s Peng Shuai. The Polish 2005 Wimbledon Junior Champion dominated the opening stages of her 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 9-7 victory but was pushed to the limit by a remarkably resilient opponent. A tentative beginning to the match on Court 14 saw the opening four games go with serve, with both players making a series of unforced errors. But it was the Polish 11th seed who settled into her stride first and sparked what turned out to be a thrilling match with a series of powerful ground strokes that pinned her opponent to the base line. Sensing an opportunity to capture the early initiative, Radwanska made the first break with the most delicate of drop shots to end the stalemate and put her firmly in the driving seat. There was more evidence of Radwanska’s growing confidence on display as she raced through her next service game before setting up a second opportunity to break her opponent’s serve and tie up the set. Again the drop shot proved to be the clincher for the Pole as Peng was forced to race to the net only to see her soft repost tee up her opponent for a simple volley into an empty court. With one set secured, Radwanska refused to take her foot of the gas and wasted no time in breaking at the first opportunity in between two steady service games of her own to race into a three game lead. Peng then staged a dramatic revival, breaking back to put her in contention for taking the second set But, in the blink of an eye, the match was turned on its head as Peng staged a dramatic revival, breaking back to put her in contention for the second set. As complacency gradually crept into Radwanska’s game, it was the Chinese player’s resilience that proved to be her greatest weapon against an opponent ranked 22 places higher. Peng, armed with a renewed sense of urgency, looked a different player to the one that had gifted the first set to her opponent and was quick to capitalise on the increasingly dispirited performance coming from the other side of the net. With the momentum now firmly swung the way of the Chinese woman, there was a sense of inevitability about the tiebreak that went Peng’s way and levelled the match. With all to play for, both players became tense and, consequently, the third set played host to an extended and enthralling exchange of game breaks. In an exemplary display of determination, neither player was prepared to concede and it soon became apparent that the match was destined to become a marathon. As the match eventually rolled on to its final stages, Radwanska rediscovered her earlier form to extinguish Peng’s hot streak and clinch victory, claiming an eighth and then a decisive ninth game of the set. Court 14 - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round Agnieszka Radwanska POL (11) 6 66 9 Shuai Peng CHN 2 78 7