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Who will advance to the 2008 Wimbledon Women’s Final? (One thing’s for sure, it won’t be Sharapova…)

We’ll find out soon enough.

Because we finally have the four remaining semi-finalists in the 2008 Wimbledon Championships women’s division. The two Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, are hoping to face each other in the championship match but before they do that, they have to beat Elena Dementieva and Jie Zheng in the semi-finals first respectively.

That’s right, we’re in the verge of another ‘’Williams final'’ at the 2008 All England Lawn Tennis Championships. Venus Williams will face Elena Dementieva while sister Serena has Jie Zheng. On paper, I guess a ‘’Williams final'’ is imminent eh? How did these four semi-finalists got here? Read on.

Venus Williams reached the Serena Williams and Venus Williamssemi-finals for the seventh time in the last nine years with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand. Venus, who has won all seven of her career meetings with Tanasugarn, fired eight aces but committed 22 unforced errors and three double faults.

The American still managed to win after suffering a hamstring injury late in the match, limping noticeably down the stretch. ‘’It feels a little bit tight,'’ the 28-year-old Venus Williams said. ‘’I'll be fine. I’m a big girl. I can deal with it.'’

Looking to take advantage of that injury in the semi-finals is Elena Dementieva. She earned the ticket to face Venus after she salvaged a victory against Nadia Petrova, coming up with a 6-1, 6-7 (6), 6-3 win to reach her very first Wimbledon semifinal. Dementieva cruised to a 5-1 lead in the second set before suffering from her errors and double faults that littered her game.

Dementieva then came back strong and raced to a 4-0 lead in the third to ultimately win it. STILL, she has to be concerned with the way she let Petrova back in the match. She knows there will be no room for error in the semis against defending champion Venus.

‘’It’s all pressure on her, I really have nothing to lose,'’ Dementieva said. ‘’All I need is just to have a day off to recover, just to play my game, just to enjoy the moment.'’

Serena Williams, on the other hand, cruised past her counterpart with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over the 14th seed Agnieszka Radwanska to advance. Williams had a considerably smoother ride to the semi-finals this time, needing just 51 minutes to dispatch Radwanska.

An eight-time Grand Slam champion, Williams certainly brought her A-game Tuesday, firing 11 aces and 27 winners against just six unforced errors. Serena owns a 5-1 all-time record in major finals against Venus, whose only championship victory in the sibling rivalry came at the 2001 U.S. Open.

Standing on her way is Zheng Jie.

Zheng Jie became the first Chinese player to reach the semifinals of the Wimbledon Grand Slam tournament last Tuesday by beating Nicole Vaidisova 6-2, 5-7, 6-1. The 133rd-ranked Jie now has beaten French Open champion Ana Ivanovic and three other seeded players, earning her the right to be dubbed as the ‘’giant killer'’ of this year’s Wimbledon championships.

On Thursday, she will face probably the biggest of them all, as well as the ugliest, in Serena.

Who will win the 2008 Wimbledon Championships? Bodog sportsbook has the odds on the women’s division.

Elena Dementieva 9.00

Jie Zheng 11.00

Serena Williams 2.10

Venus Williams 2.20

Want more odds? Visit Bodog sportsbook for more tennis betting odds and the best betting lines on some of today’s biggest sporting events.

Serena Williams Venus Williams

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