Williams easily beats Capriati to reach semis

WIMBLEDON, England -- In a match that never lived up to expectations, two-time defending champion Serena Williams beat a listless Jennifer Capriati 6-1, 6-1 on Wednesday to advance to the Wimbledon semifinals.

Williams and Capriati have built one of the best rivalries in women's tennis, but this Centre Court match was completely one- sided.

With Capriati having trouble just keeping the ball in the court, Williams swept through the match in 45 minutes. The 13,000-capacity Centre Court stadium was one-third empty and guests in the Royal Box barely had time to settle in their seats before it was all over.

The most animated point of the match was the last one -- with Williams tumbling on a stretch forehand volley that Capriati couldn't reach.

"I was really focused coming out, I knew what I wanted to do," Williams said. "I had some goals. I know when I play Jen, I have to play really tough, she's an amazing fighter. I can't let up on her at all."

Williams will next face Amelie Mauresmo, who beat Paola Suarez 6- 0, 5-7, 6-1 to reach her second Wimbledon semifinal. Suarez had six double faults, 32 unforced errors and only seven winners.

"I had some trouble in the second set, I got scared a little bit," Mauresmo said. "I was much better in the third set."

Williams has a 6-1 career record against Mauresmo, including a 6- 2, 6-1 win in the Wimbledon semifinals two years ago.

The top-seeded Williams, who has lost only 17 games in five matches, is closing in on becoming the third woman in 35 years to win three straight titles.

"I've been thinking about that since the start of the tournament," she said. "I'm really excited."

Croatia's Mario Ancic, meanwhile, upset Tim Henman in straight sets to become the first player to reach the men's semis. Ancic, a 20- year-old protege of 2001 champion Goran Ivanisevic, silenced the home crowd by thoroughly outplaying the fifth-seeded Henman, 7-6 (5), 6- 4, 6-2 on Centre Court.

The win brought an end to Henman's latest bid to become the first British player to win the men's title since Fred Perry in 1936. The 29-year-old Henman has now lost in four quarterfinals and four semifinals.

After a first set with no service breaks, there were three straight breaks early in the second. The momentum swung Ancic's way for good when he broke at love for 4-3. He led the rest of the way, winning five straight games at one stretch and breaking twice in the third set. He served his 10th and 11th aces in the final game and finished with a service winner.

Nicknamed "Super Mario," Ancic first made a name for himself at Wimbledon in 2000 when he upset No. 7 Roger Federer -- the current champion -- in the first round.

Ancic will next face either Andy Roddick or Sjeng Schalken. The other quarterfinal matchups: Roger Federer vs. Lleyton Hewitt, and Sebastian Grosjean vs. Florian Mayer.

Williams, who had knee surgery after winning Wimbledon last year, returned to the tour in March after an eight-month layoff. She now seems back to her dominant best.

"It's been a really hard 12 months for me," Williams said. "I'm feeling really good for the first time since I've been back."

Capriati, a three-time Grand Slam winner who was seeded No. 7, said she had no answer for Williams' relentless game.

"She just played too good today," Capriati said. "The early break gave her that extra confidence and she just got on a roll. Today was probably one of the best she's ever played against me.

"I don't think I really had much of a chance to get into the match and play. I was feeling so much pressure from her. Her game plan was to tee off on everything and she was on. I couldn't even get the rallies going. Maybe I just didn't have that little spark that I've had."

This was the first time in six Grand Slam meetings between Williams and Capriati that the match didn't go three sets.

Williams has now beaten Capriati 10 times in 16 matches. Capriati had won the last two, including a three-setter in the French Open quarterfinals a month ago. At Wimbledon, Capriati won in three sets in the 2001 quarterfinals and Williams prevailed in three in the 2003 quarters.

"After I won the last two times, she had a vendetta," Capriati said.

After Capriati held serve to open the match, Williams won eight straight games to go up 6-1, 2-0. In her only lapse, Williams served consecutive double-faults to drop serve. But she then won eight straight points to go up 4-1. Serving at 30-0 in the next game, Capriati made four straight unforced errors to make it 5-1. Williams, down 15-40, saved two break points in the next game and won the last four points of the match.

The stat sheet made ugly reading for Capriati: she had 17 unforced errors and only five winners. Williams had 15 winners and 14 errors.

"Jennifer didn't play close to her best," said Williams' father, Richard. "She was nervous and scared. Serena was twice as nervous as Jennifer, but she was able to snap out of it. They were both missing balls a junior wouldn't miss. That wasn't the real Jennifer.

"Serena had better be ready next time, because Jennifer might annihilate her. No one forgets a match like that."

The other women's semifinal berths were filled Tuesday, with 1999 champion Lindsay Davenport and 17-year-old Russian star Maria Sharapova advancing to the final four from the bottom half of the draw. Sharapova is the youngest player to make the Wimbledon semifinals since Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova both got there in 1997 at 16.

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