Awash In Joy
Serena Williams
Julian Finney/Getty Images
Serena Williams overcame a calf injury to gut out a 6-2, 6-7, 6-2 win.
For a Wimbledon classic, just add water. A hobbled Serena Williams looked finished today, but then a well-timed rain delay turned the tide for the No. 7 seed, who rallied past Daniela Hantuchova.
Serena overcomes injury to advance; Venus survives
ESPN.com news services
Updated: July 2, 2007, 6:21 PM ET
WIMBLEDON, England -- Serena Williams collapsed with a strained calf, screamed in pain and buried her face in the grass behind the baseline, her bid for a third Wimbledon title in jeopardy.
Nearly three hours later, following a timely rain delay, she hobbled gallantly into the quarterfinals by beating Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-2.
When the rain came, Williams was a set up but trailing 4-2 in the second-set tiebreaker. She limped off the court without bothering to fetch her tennis bag.
"I was definitely saved by the rain," Serena would say later. "I couldn't move before the rain. Just everything stopped."
Following a delay of nearly two hours, Williams returned to the court with both legs taped, wearing sweat pants to keep warm in the cool conditions. She lost the first five points but then began to move better and hit more aggressively, while Hantuchova was erratic, perhaps unnerved by the unusual circumstances.
"It's so hard to play against somebody that is struggling, and you kind of feel sorry," Hantuchova said. "I lost it. I had my chances."
Hantuchova shanked several shots down the stretch, including one in the rally where she lost serve to fall behind 4-2. Williams frequently punctuated points by screaming, "Come on!"
"I was going to die trying," Williams said. "I figured my heart wouldn't give out, so I had a good chance of making it."
On the final point, she whacked a confident backhand return that Hantuchova couldn't handle. Williams looked to the still-threatening sky and blew a kiss in gratitude toward the weather.
"I thought about not finishing, but very briefly. I thought I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hadn't at least tried," the No. 7 Williams said. "I've never dealt with such pain. I can't believe -- I can't believe I won, really.''
She'll play top-ranked Justine Henin in the quarterfinals.
"I've been looking forward to this match since the draw came out," Williams said. "I can only hope and pray that I can make it."
"She got through,'' said her mother and coach, Oracene Price. "Can she go through another one? You don't know what the pain's going to be like next time."
Henin, seeking the only Grand Slam title she has yet to win, beat No. 15-seeded Patty Schnyder 6-2, 6-2.
Williams' sister, Venus, made it to the fourth round despite a performance so filled with errors she drew criticism from her father.
The three-time champion rallied past Akiko Morigami 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 in a match suspended Saturday. And she did it even though she faced 23 break points, double-faulted 14 times and trailed 5-3 in the third set.
Serena Williams' injury, described by the WTA Tour as a spasm-induced left calf strain, struck after Hantuchova hit a forehand winner for a 5-5, 30-15 lead in the second set. Williams grabbed her calf, tapped it three times with her racket head and fell to the grass.
She remained down for seven minutes. While a trainer massaged the calf, Williams grimaced, then screamed in pain.
She kept playing for another 11 minutes, wiping away tears before one point while hitting shots weakly and walking stiffly in pursuit of the ball. But she managed to hold for 6-all, then won the last two points before the delay.
Some Centre Court fans cheered the interruption, pleased to see Williams rewarded for her valiant attempt to keep playing. She said she took advantage of the break to receive treatment with ice and massages, and drank a lot of liquids.
Serena's mother and coach, Oracene Price, said she advised her daughter to stop playing.
Richard Williams, Serena's father, told ESPN during a rain delay that the doctor on the court advised Richard to have Serena withdraw from the tournament, as she could further injure herself by continuing either Monday or the rest of the tournament.
Williams said he told Serena, "Let's go home, baby." Serena's reply, Williams said, is that she intended to continue playing.
The bizarre match even included a bathroom controversy. In the final set Williams requested a break leading 3-2, but chair umpire Kader Nouni told her to wait until Hantuchova served.
"I've been drinking a lot of liquids, so I have to use the bathroom," Williams told Nouni. "I can't go on a changeover? It won't take me long. I have to use the bathroom. I can't use the bathroom?"
Williams never did take a break.
Venus will next go against 2004 champion Maria Sharapova, one of only two players to win Saturday in the rain-plagued tournament. Venus trailed 4-1 in the second set when her match was halted, and when it resumed two days later she struggled from the start, losing the first seven points.
"If Venus moves up to the ball and takes it off the bounce instead of waiting behind the baseline, she'll be the only one here, including Sharapova," said Richard Williams. "She's not going to beat anyone if she's not moving into the ball."
Venus saw her match as a positive.
"When it was time, I did what it took. I definitely would like to do what it takes earlier," she said. "But I think on the other hand, that kind of competition is invaluable in this kind of tournament. So either way it's good for me."
Henin needed only 56 minutes to beat the No. 15-seeded Schnyder. Henin has lost 15 games in four rounds.
"I did my job perfectly until now," she said.
In the completion of third-round matches suspended Saturday, No. 5-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-3; No. 6 Ana Ivanovic defeated Aravane Rezai 6-3, 6-2; No. 11 Nadia Petrova swept Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-3, 7-6 (3); and No. 14 Nicole Vaidisova downed Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-2.
No. 12 Elena Dementieva lost to 16-year-old Tamira Paszek of Austria 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. Paszek, the runner-up in juniors at Wimbledon in 2005, was thrilled to pull off an upset in her favorite Grand Slam event.
"The strawberries with cream, playing all in white, the grass courts, covering, uncovering the courts, rain delays, rain delays -- just everything is so special," the teen said.
Rain has caused an interruption on six of the first seven days of the tournament.
Information from The Associated Press is included in this report
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