June 29, 2011
Spectators could be set for one of the loudest ladies’ finals in Centre Court history on Saturday, should Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka come through their semi-finals. .
Sharapova, who takes on wild card Sabine Lisicki, sent the gruntometers into overdrive during her 2004 victory over the equally vocal Serena Williams, but the Russian’s highest-recorded shriek of 105 decibels could well be exceeded should she and Azarenka, who must get past Petra Kvitova, reach the showpiece. The noisy pair met in Miami in March but tensions, and decibel levels, are likely to be much higher in a grand-slam final.
Fourth seed Azarenka competes in her first grand-slam semi-final against fellow 21-year-old Kvitova. They are first up on Centre on Thursday.
Kvitova, the world No 8, has been in formidable form throughout these championships, dropping her only set during a quarter-final win over Tsvetana Pironkova.
The Czech will have to excel again to score a third win over Azarenka in their fifth meeting. The match is likely to be decided by how well Azarenka retrieves Kvitova’s thumping left-handed serves.
In the other semi-final, Lisicki, the lowest-ranked member of the final four at No 62 in the world, will face Sharapova for only the second time, the former world No 1 having obliterated the German for the loss of only two games in Miami.
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