Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 4:48 am Post subject: Tennis
Venus Williams will take on world number one Dinara Safina in the last four of the Italian Open after the pair came through Thursday's quarters.
Safina was in trouble at a set and a break down against Spain's Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, but battled back to win 4-6 6-3 6-0 on the clay.
Williams had a far easier time as she thrashed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1 6-2.
Svetlana Kuznetsova earlier beat title holder Jelena Jankovic 6-1 7-6 (7-3) to set up a clash with Victoria Azarenka.
The Belarussian, who won the Miami title last month, saw off Estonia's Kaia Kanepi 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.
"It was a pretty bad match from both of us," said the 19-year-old Azarenka. "I'm just happy I managed to stay calm in the second set and pull it off."
In the first of the quarter-finals, Jankovic was outplayed in the opening set but had a chance to turn the tide with two break points at 6-5 in the second. _________________ FOA BOB -
Wimbledon could see play continue until as late as 2200 BST and beyond this year with the introduction of a roof over Centre Court.
After two years of construction work, the roof will be available for use at the Championships for the first time when the tournament begins on 22 June.
Floodlights have been fitted, meaning bad light will no longer be a factor.
The All England Club will schedule matches in the same manner as 2008, but with no cut-off time for play to end.
"We could finish after 10 o'clock in the evening," said club chairman Tim Phillips.
"The scheduling will still be the same as an outdoor day-time event, but there is no absolute cut-off time."
He added: "Once a match has started with the roof closed, that match would continue and would complete with the roof closed.
"It means that any Centre Court match, once started, ought to be able to finish."
Ian Ritchie, chief executive of the All England Club, said: "We'd prefer to play outdoors. If we can, we would prefer to keep the roof open as much as possible.
"But, if we start with it shut, we will finish with it shut. The opening and closing is at the discretion of the referee, as at other Grand Slams."
Tournament referee Andrew Jarrett will consider the weather conditions at around 45 minutes before play is due to start and then decide whether to start play with the roof closed.
The roof will take 8-10 minutes to close and a further 20-30 minutes is required for the air management system to create the correct conditions.
While the roof is being deployed, the existing court covers will be pulled across the playing surface.
A test event for the new roof involving Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Tim Henman and Kim Clijsters will take place on 17 May.
The rebuilt Centre Court has an increased capacity of 15,000 from 13,800, while a new 4,000-capacity Court Two will also open for the first time, taking the total ground capacity up to 40,000 spectators.
Wimbledon also confirmed that the total prize money on offer has increased by 6.2% to £12.55m, with the men's and women's singles champions collecting £850,000 each - an increase of 13.3% on last year. _________________ FOA BOB -
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