Venus secures semi berth
Venus Williams swept into the semi-finals of Wimbledon with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Tamarine Tanasugarn on Court One.
The defending champion was not at her best but managed to overpower her diminutive opponent, who showed plenty of courage but was let down by a feeble serve.
Williams at times looked every inch the favourite to retain her crown but made enough errors to suggest she could yet be vulnerable.
Williams broke twice in both sets, having enjoyed break points in all bar three of Tanasugarn's 10 service games.
She had just broken Tanasugarn in game three of the first set when she let a 30-0 lead slip, allowing the Thai to level.
Williams immediately broke back to love but was soon back in trouble on her own serve, gifting Tanasugarn six break points.
Williams served her way out of trouble, which she was forced to do again when serving for the set.
The American stepped up a notch at the start of the second set, breaking immediately and racing into a 3-1 lead courtesy of two love service games.
With a serve that struggled to reach the 100mph mark, the tenacious Tanasugarn could only dream of such a statistic.
But she refused to buckle and Williams' level dropped again, allowing the Thai two break points in game six but the champion sent down more serves in excess of 120mph and then one at 127mph in her final service game before breaking again for the victory.
