June 29, 2008 - One swing from completing her week’s work, Venus Williams toed the baseline, bounced the ball, gave it a toss and delivered yet another blistering serve at Wimbledon. The ace bounced off the Court 1 backstop as Williams closed out her third round match and bid another foe farewell.
The scoreboard said 127 mph, the fastest women’s serve ever recorded at Wimbledon. The scoreboard also had Williams winning 6-1, 7-5 over qualifier Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. The defending champion was not even aware that her 11th ace had broken the tournament’s fastest serve record.
Four-time champion Venus cruises into the round of 16, along with her sister Serena.
With No. 1-ranked Ana Ivanovic and No. 2 Maria Sharapova eliminated, and with No. 3 Jelena Jankovic limping to victory Saturday, prospects look good for an all-Williams final next weekend. It would be their first meeting in a Grand Slam final since Serena beat Venus for the 2003 Wimbledon title.
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[…] The rest of us can catch the final on Saturday, July 5th. Whoever wins, it’ll be proof that someone from the other side of Atlantic can hit a decent forehand or, in Venus’s case, hit a 127 mph serve. […]