At Wimbledon, women respect the hierarchy

The top four women's seeds are all through to the semifinals: a false indicator of stability in a branch of the sport that, week in and tournament out, has been unable to achieve it. But this is Wimbledon , a place where hierarchy and tradition are still at a premium, as well as a place where the Williams sisters usually win. It was difficult to detect hints of a revolution Tuesday, which is ladies quarterfinal day at the All England Club. Older sister Venus and younger sister Serena were both in rare form, which was bad news for those who wanted to bask in the summer sunshine and enjoy a long, suspenseful match under their Panama hats and much more disappointing to the opposition. Venus, a five-time Wimbledon champion, went first on Court 1, reeling off the first five games of the match against the 11th seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and then winning 6-1, 6-2. She then showered, did her interviews and hustled over to Centre Court - her long, currently wavy locks spilling out from under her ballcap - to watch her Wimbledon housemate and doubles partner. Venus must have been reassured, because Serena was wearing the ominously introspective game face that she sometimes reserves for gifted younger opponents whom she perceives as threats to the family plot. In one of the finer performances of her lengthening career, Serena imperiously showed Victoria Azarenka who was boss, at least on grass this year, with a 6-2, 6-3 victory that, despite no shortage of eye-catching rallies or intensity, lasted just one hour and 13 minutes. The other numbers confirmed what the eye suspected: Though her first-serve percentage was under 50 percent, Williams served nine aces and no double faults. She had 26 winners and just seven unforced errors, a remarkable ratio for a big-swinging player who has power to spare but doesn't like to spare it. ''She really showed the unbeatable Serena today, I guess,'' said Azarenka, the combustible 19-year-old Belarussian who has been on the rise this season and who had routed Serena by a similar score in the final in Miami in April. But that was on a hard court, with Serena suffering a flare-up of the knee pain that has caused her more angst than most of her opponents over the years. This time, she started and finished strongly: marking her territory by chasing down drop shots and hitting forehand winners on the stretch against a fine athlete who has no fear of high-velocity rallies. ''I really wanted to do well today,'' said the second-seeded Serena. ''I didn't do well the last time we played. I was not feeling great, and I felt like I really wanted to show up today.'' Thursday's semifinals will now be Williams-Russian affairs. The third-seeded Venus will face No. 1 seed Dinara Safina, who beat German 19-year-old Sabine Lisicki 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-1 in an edgy match littered with errors and shrieks of frustration from Safina. Serena will face No. 4 seed Elena Dementieva, who beat the unseeded Italian veteran Francesca Schiavone, 6-2, 6-2. ''I think both of the sisters, they love to play on grass, and grass loves the Williams sisters,'' Dementieva said. Despite the tape on Venus's sore left knee, the sisters are also still in the doubles and thriving. They reached the quarterfinals Monday by winning 6-0, 6-0 against the strong Chinese pair of Zheng Jie and Yan Zi. Dementieva, the elegant and polyglot Muscovite, has looked at home on the lawns herself this year. Like the Williamses, she has not lost a set and has not been pushed to a tiebreaker. Once hampered on grass by her unreliable serve, Dementieva has worked hard to address that weakness and reached the semifinals here last year, losing to Venus in straight sets. She then went on to win the Olympic gold, which looked as if it might soothe her persistent self-doubt and propel her to greater success on tour when she started out the year in ferocious fashion by winning in Auckland and Sydney. But Serena stopped her run in the semifinals of the Australian Open, and Dementieva has yet to win another tournament. She looks fit and focused here, however, and has been training hard on the grass. ''I know it surprised a lot of people that I'm still working hard and trying to improve my game,'' said the 27-year-old Dementieva. ''But this is what is so interesting for me about Tennis; that I'm still trying to learn a lot about my game, and I feel very open to change something in my game.'' Safina, a No. 1 still looking for a Grand Slam singles title, has certainly improved her results at Wimbledon this year. Never past the third round in six previous visits, she has now matched her older brother Marat Safin's best performance here by reaching the semifinals. It has not been without major stress. On Tuesday, she had to fight past Lisicki, a powerfully built, almond-eyed teenager who lives in Berlin and has trained for several years in Florida. Nick Bollettieri has been impressed with her commitment and aggressive game. And for a set, it was difficult to tell that this was Lisicki's first Grand Slam quarterfinal, but it soon became much easier to surmise as she struggled to control her groundstrokes, forcing the issue too often from extended positions and making poor decisions on the run. There were times when no running was required, however. Safina double faulted to start the first set and lose the first set: receiving a code violation for racket abuse after flinging her instrument of self-torture to the grass. She would finish with 15 double faults, but Lisicki's inconsistency and the quality of Safina's returns, particularly her backhand return, ultimately made the difference in this deflating match. Safina will have to be better, much better, to stop Venus Williams's 19-match winning streak at the All England Club. Safina won their most recent match, in the semifinals in Rome this year. But that was on clay, not the grass that continues to bring out the champion in Venus. ''When I go out there, I'm going to, of course, feel like I want to make it happen on my side of the net,'' Venus said. ''She has the top ranking, but I have more the experience in this tournament and more success.'' ** CAPTION: Elena Dementieva serving as she beat Francesca Schiavone in the quarterfinals. The 27-year-old Russian is the Olympic champion but has yet to win a Grand Slam singles title. She faces Serena Williams in the last four Thursday. Photo Credit: CARL DE SOUZA/Agence France-Presse