Win with authority
HOWARD FENDRICH   Associated Press, Spartanburg Herald Journal
WIMBLEDON, England -- Pow! A 104 mph ace. Crack! A 113 mph ace. Wham! A 126 mph ace, the fastest serve ever hit by a woman at Wimbledon. \n When Serena Williams ends games that way, as she did during …
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Herald-Journal
WIMBLEDON, England -- Pow! A 104 mph ace. Crack! A 113 mph ace. Wham! A 126 mph ace, the fastest serve ever hit by a woman at Wimbledon.

When Serena Williams ends games that way, as she did during a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Tatiana Golovin on Tuesday, it's easy to understand why she's closing in on becoming just the third woman in 35 years to win three straight titles at the All England Club.

And it's easy to dismiss recent chatter about whether Williams can be No. 1 again. Whether she can dominate despite being too rusty or too consumed by acting and fashion designing, or too distracted by the shooting death of her half-sister last year.

Doubts tend to dissipate when watching her drop a total of 15 games through four matches, albeit without facing a seeded player. Her 12 aces, including trios in three games, gave her 33 for the tournament, with only two double-faults.

"I'm feeling like Pete Sampras, for sure," she said, smiling at her words. "It's important for me to always have that confidence in myself and know that I can win this tournament if I put my mind to it."

Next comes a big test, though: a quarterfinal today against Jennifer Capriati, who beat No. 10 Nadia Petrova 6-4, 6-4. The Williams-Capriati winner will face No. 4 Amelie Mauresmo or No. 9 Paola Suarez in the semifinals.

The other semifinal is set: 1999 champion Lindsay Davenport vs. No. 13 Maria Sharapova, players at opposite ends of their careers.

Davenport, 28, beat Karolina Sprem 6-2, 6-2, then said there's "probably a good chance" this is her last Wimbledon. The Siberian-born, Florida-raised Sharapova, 17, got past No. 11 Ai Sugiyama 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 to become the tournament's youngest semifinalist since 1997, when Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova were 16.

Hingis went on to win the title. Sharapova, headed to her first major semifinal, sees no reason why she can't, too.

"I'm going to give it my all," said Sharapova, who has a deal with a modeling agency but shuns comparisons with zero-title Kournikova. "That's what I'm here for, and I want to win this tournament."

It's become somewhat en vogue to question how badly the Williams sisters want to return to the top of tennis. After both missed the second half of last season with injuries, then showed off-and-on form in 2004, Serena is ranked No. 10, and Venus is No. 8. Both lost in the quarterfinals at the French Open; neither has been to a Slam semifinal since a year ago at Wimbledon.

Their outspoken father, Richard, has long encouraged his daughters to develop interests outside tennis. Indeed, he reiterated Tuesday that he wouldn't mind if they quit playing altogether sooner rather than later.

"I wouldn't be disappointed at all if they walk away," he said. "We'd like for them to walk away at the same time. They need each other."

Serena grew accustomed to having Venus around at this stage of major tournaments. They met in five of six Slam finals over one stretch, with little sis winning each time, including at Wimbledon the past two years.

But Venus is gone, having lost a second-round match that forever will be remembered for the extra point Sprem was awarded by the chair umpire.

"It's kind of stressful because all the attention's on me now from my mom and my dad," Serena said. "Usually, I slack off, let them talk to Venus, and I'm in the background. Now they're totally focused on me."

Against Golovin, Williams zoned in right when she had to.

Golovin -- who's 16, was born in Russia, learned to play in the United States and represents France -- swatted a stinging forehand return to a corner to win the opening point. Then Williams went to work, pounding four serves Golovin couldn't put in play.

When Golovin broke to get within 3-2 in the first set, Williams won 12 of the next 15 points. Golovin broke again to open the second set, and Williams responded by going on a 19-2 run.

"I guess I can't complain too much, huh?" said Williams, generally critical of herself, even after easy victories.

She talked earlier in the tournament about taking something off her serve. That sure wasn't the case when she hit aces at 112 mph, 117 mph and 119 mph -- punctuating each with an "Aaah!" -- to take a 2-1 lead in the second set. Or when she hit another three in the match's last game. Or when she had her other triple, including the tournament record-setter (Venus hit 125 mph at the All England Club in 1998 and 2001). The 126 mph serve is also the second-fastest on record by a woman, anywhere: Venus reached 127 mph at a tournament in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1998.

When Serena saw the courtside speed reading, she raised her arms and smiled at her parents in the players' guest box.

"Maybe the radar's off," Capriati said with a laugh.

She'll get an up-close look at Williams' serve when they resume the best rivalry in tennis.

Williams leads the series 9-6, but Capriati ended an eight-match, head-to-head losing streak by winning the past two meetings on clay, including at the French Open.

They're two of the hardest hitters in the game, and this is how close they are: 11 of the 15 matches went three sets, including all five at Slams.

"She respects my game, I respect hers," three-time major champion Capriati said. "We're not the best of friends, but we're not enemies either."

A brief look at Wimbledon on Tuesday: Attendance: 34,041. Last year: 34,696. Women's Seeded Winners: No. 1 Serena Williams, No. 4 Amelie Mauresmo, No. 5 Lindsay Davenport, No. 7 Jennifer Capriati, No. 9 Paola Suarez, No. 13 Maria Sharapova. Women's Seeded Losers: No. 10 Nadia Petrova to Capriati, No. 11 Ai Sugiyama to Sharapova, No. 14 Silvia Farina Elia to Mauresmo. Tatiana Golovin, Rita Grande and Karolina Sprem, all unseeded, also lost. Today's TV: ESPN2, 8-10 a.m.; Ch. 4 (NBC), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; ESPN, 1-5 p.m.