Olympic semifinal preview: Serena Williams vs. Victoria Azarenka

Our contributing blogger Omair dug into the world of Olympic stats and brought us the previews of the semifinals. Let's see the numbers behind the 2012 Olympic performances of our semifinalists for an insight into who has a greater chance to win. First up on the menu: Victoria Azarenka vs. Serena Williams.

Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams will meet for the 10th time in their careers, most recent meeting coming on the very same lawns of Wimbledon just a few weeks ago, at the same stage of the tournament (in that match, Serena hit 24 aces, thus winning an entire set only with aces!). It was Serena who walked off victorious. Will it be different this time?

Azarenka fought hard to fend off the Angelique Kerber challenge in the quarterfinals, 6-4 7-5. Serena joined Azarenka shortly afterwards, thumping Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets, 6-0 6-3. This will be a rematch of their Wimbledon semifinal, where Azarenka put up a brave show, but lost in straight sets.

Williams has yet to lose a set in the 2012 London Olympics, while Azarenka has already lost a set in her first-round victory.

Let's have a look at Azarenka's and Serena's performance so far in the tournament.

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Clijsters remains unbeaten by Ivanovic, Venus falls to Kerber

Kim Clijsters will likely end her career with a perfect 6-0 record against fellow Grand Slam champion and former No.1 Ana Ivanovic. In their today's encounter at the London Olympics, Clijsters won 84% of points on first serve (69% of her first serves got in) and defeated the 11th-seeded Ivanovic 6-3 6-4 in just 58 minutes, despite hitting 10 winners less than the Serb. The third-round victory came pretty smoothly to Clijsters and only in the beginning of the second set she faced bigger challenges, when double faults at 0-1 eased Ivanovic's way to break points. However, Clijsters saved them, held her serve and finished the match without losing service games.

Venus Williams wasted three set points and a 5-1 lead in the first-set tiebreak, while in the second set she blew a 3-1 lead to fall to this year's Wimbledon semifinalist Angelique Kerber 7-6(5) 7-6(5). Kerber is making her Olympic debut, while Venus is looking for a record fourth gold medal in the Olympic tennis, which she still has a shot at thanks to the women's doubles alongside sister Serena.

Serena Williams lost just one game, 6-1 6-0, in the third round against Vera Zvonareva (the only women's singles medalist from the Bejing Olympics who played this year, as Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina have retired), Petra Kvitova beat Flavia Pennetta 6-3 6-0, Victoria Azarenka, after saving set points, advanced with a straight-set victory over Nadia Petrova 7-6(6) 6-4, and Maria Kirilenko took out Julia Goerges 7-6(5) 6-3. (source: The Washington Post, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Goerges hits 56 winners to beat Radwanska at Olympics

In the first round of the Olympic Tennis Event and on the first day in 100 years that rain sent the Olympic tennis indoors, Julia Goerges upset second seed Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5 6-7(5) 6-4.

En route to the victory, Goerges fired 56 winners, including 20 aces, 17 forehand winners, 12 backhand winners and 5 volley winners. Her differential of winners to unforced errors was +31, while Radwanska's was just +3.

To make the win even bigger for Goerges, Radwanska's last tournament and actually her last final came at the same Wimbledon venue this month. (source: WTA Tour, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Are Olympic medals in tennis equally or even more valuable than Grand Slam titles?

The Olympic Games are just around the corner and all the tennis players who have qualified are excited about joining the biggest sporting event in the world, while those left behind are dreaming about being able to play the next time. Now I'd like to ask you: Do you think the Olympic Tennis Event is at par with Grand Slams or do you see the gold medal as less important than a Grand Slam trophy?

Here's what WTA players are saying:

It’s getting closer and closer. I’m getting little butterflies in my stomach. As a tennis player, you get to play Grand Slams what seems every other week. You don’t think about the Olympics. It’s an added bonus. – SERENA WILLIAMS, 2000 and 2008 gold medalist with sister Venus in the women’s doubles

The Olympics is one of my biggest goals. Growing up, the Olympics was a huge part of our culture, so I can’t wait to be an Olympian. – MARIA SHARAPOVA, Russia's first female flag-bearer Read more »

Childhood pics: Four-year-old Petra Martic "wasn't crazy to play handball" like her mother

During the 2012 French Open Croatian Petra Martic attracted the most attention so far in her career by reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time and ousting a Top 10 player, Marion Bartoli, for the first time. Following the claycourt Grand Slam, Martic ascended to a career-high of No.42 in the WTA rankings. Lured by her spring success, I decided to feature the 21-year-old Petra in the Childhood Photos and Videos of Women's Tennis Players series.

At the age of four, little Petra approached her mother Sandra with a definite decision that she wants to be a tennis player, even though her mother played handball and her father soccer. Besides naming tennis as her profession of choice, Petra added: Read more »


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