TENNIS.com - 2008 Wimbledon Open - Wimbledon 2008: Day 11 picks

By Kamakshi Tandon

Elena Dementieva (RUS) [5] vs. Venus Williams (USA) [7] Centre Court: 1:00 pm

Four-time champ Venus Williams naturally starts as the favorite in this match, but Elena Dementieva is a major step up from the low-ranked opponents Venus has faced so far in this tournament. She'll have to start at a higher level than she has so far to avoid getting into a hole at the beginning of the match.

The two should be pretty evenly matched from the baseline - Dementieva is extremely solid off the ground while Venus has more power behind her strokes, and both are very quick. But Venus has a significant advantage in two areas. First, the serve - she hit 127 mph earlier in the tournament and her first-serve percentage has averaged over 70 percent during the fortnight. By contrast, Dementeiva can struggle just to get the ball into the box at times and her second serve is weak and predictable.

Venus' second area of advantage is mental - with strong belief in her game and plenty of experience in this position, she won't becoem nervous. Dementieva, meanwhile, will be playing her first Wimbledon semifinal and hasn't been to the final four of a major in almost three years. She came close at the French Open last month, leading by a set and 5-2 and holding match points at 5-3 before falling to Dinara Safina. She almost repeated the collapse two days ago when she wasted a 6-1, 5-1 lead against Nadia Petrova - but this time she salvaged the match in three sets.

At the same time, however, Dementieva is a good fighter who is capable of clawing her way back into a match if her opponent falters. Venus' service technique and forehand can go awry at times, but that's rarely happened during the late stages of Wimbledon. And barring that possibility, Dementieva will have trouble breaking enough to make up for the number of times she's going to get broken.

Prediction: Venus Williams

Jie Zheng (CHN) vs. Serena Williams (USA) [6] Centre Court: 2nd match

Wimbledon has thrown up some surprise semifinalists before - remember Mirjana Lucic and Alexandra Stevenson in 1999? - and Jie Zheng is right up there with the best of them. Once a top 30 player, she's currently at No. 133 after sitting out the second half of last year with an ankle injury, and needed a wildcard to get into this event. And at just over 5'4", she doesn't exactly fit the mold of tall, powerful players who have triumphed here over the last few years.

But Zheng's penetrating flat strokes and low-to-the-ground build have allowed her to knock off both Ana Ivanovic and Nicole Vaidisova and unless she gets very nervous, she should force Serena to come up with the goods. The difference is that Serena is a much better mover than Zheng's other seeded victims, and her serve is much tougher. The former champ can win this match being solid rather than spectacular, but she won't get away with any less than that.

Prediction: Serena Williams