Serena Overcomes Mauresmo in Thriller Thursday, July 1, 2004 Serena Williams remains on course for a hat-trick of Wimbledon championships after winning a memorable 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 6-4 victory in two hours 27 minutes over the fourth seed from France, Amelie Mauresmo. She will now play in Saturday's final against Maria Sharapova. This fiercely contested match of violent swings of fortune was by far the most exciting women's contest of the tournament, and at one stage, until she was stricken with back problems, Mauresmo looked set for a memorable success. Serena made the most encouraging of starts. Although Mauresmo struck an early ace and had points to hold serve in the opening game, she was overhauled by the American and broken with a well-struck Williams forehand winner. So well did the athletic Mauresmo counter-attack that she twice held break points and Williams needed to dig herself out of trouble on both occasions with aces. Still, Serena hung on to her lead and, after consulting some notes during the change of ends, served at 5-4 for the first set. She got to set point with a backhand which landed near the side line and which Mauresmo thought should have been called out. The French girl saved that one with a gorgeous backhand pass and when Serena immediately moved to her second set point she torpedoed her own chances with her first double-fault. Thus encouraged, Mauresmo put away a smash to break back to 5-5, at which Serena hurled her racket to the ground in anger. She soon had cause for further anger, casting away a 4-3 lead in the tiebreak, losing the next four points and finding herself a set down after 53 minutes. Her previous match, against Jennifer Capriati, had lasted just 45 minutes. Faced with an opponent who was taking the fight to her, Williams faltered for the first time in the tournament. She held onto her serve at the start of the second set only after surviving two break points, but the reprieve was brief. As her forehand started to betray her, Serena faced another break point in her next service game and she dropped serve as Mauresmo nailed one of her trademark backhand passes. A furious Serena again threw away her racket, this time with such force that she cracked it and had to replace it - without sustaining the fine she might have done - a couple of games later when it collapsed completely. At 1-3 down in the second set, the champion was in deep trouble, but her response was typically aggressive. With Mauresmo suddenly having problems with her oft-problematical back, Williams levelled at 3-3 when the French player dumped a simple backhand volley into the net. At the next change of ends Mauresmo had treatment on her back and was clearly in some physical distress. So it was not surprising when Serena won her fourth straight game by breaking again, though the manner of it could not have been luckier. A mishit off the frame sailed over Mauresmo's head and landed plumb on the baseline. Once more, however, serving for the set proved beyond her, as Mauresmo enjoyed a slice of luck with a dead net cord and then saw Serena net another simple forehand. But, with her service action hobbled by back pains, Amelie could not hang on to clinch the match, or even to force it into a second tiebreak, and Williams was handed a 55-minute second set on a woeful Mauresmo double-fault. As a gripping contest moved past the two-hour mark, Mauresmo was more obviously struggling to stay in contention, but the first nine games of the decider went with serve. Then, serving to stay in the match, the French girl's resistance cracked. A stunning backhand service return down the line took Serena to two match points. She needed only one as a Mauresmo forehand was hooked wide. Written by Ron Atkin Centre Court - Ladies' Singles - Semifinals Serena Williams USA (1) 64 7 6 Amelie Mauresmo FRA (4) 77 5 4 -- 雨過腥聞血，風旋雪裹身。 --

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