Venus avenges Serena’s loss to Craybas

WIMBLEDON, England – The second Monday at Wimbledon offers the rare treat of all 16 men’s and women’s fourth-round matches, and on this particular afternoon there was the even rarer sight of Venus Williams playing confident, mistake-free tennis.

Less than 48 hours after sitting with chin on hand while watching her sister Serena lose to Jill Craybas, Williams strode onto the same court against the same opponent, more concerned with righting her own game than restoring family pride.

She managed to do both. Williams won the first six games and the last six to overwhelm Craybas 6-0, 6-2, looking a lot more like the player who won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2000 and 2001 than one who hasn’t reached a Grand Slam semifinal in two years.

Asked whether facing someone who just beat Serena particularly pumps her up, Williams looked down and laughed.

“I definitely would like to do it a little bit for my sister,” she said, “but mostly for me.”

Williams used her 6-foot-1 frame to track down Craybas’ shots to the corners and to win 13 of 14 points at the net.

“She was really fired up today,” Craybas said. “She definitely has a chance to win the tournament.”

The pressure of playing on Centre Court got to Kim Clijsters, who had three double-faults in the final game of her 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 loss to 1999 Wimbledon champion Lindsay Davenport.

No. 24-seeded Taylor Dent simply watched a shot land at his feet – clearly in – to give away a break-point chance at 5-4 in the second set of 2002 Wimbledon winner Lleyton Hewitt’s 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-3 win.

There were instances of frustration, such as over on cozier Court 18, where No. 10 Mario Ancic, a semifinalist last year, let out his anger after getting broken by No. 26 Feliciano Lopez to start the second set. Ancic picked up a bottle and chucked it, then tossed his racket, which a ball boy fetched. Ancic finished the job by spiking and breaking the racket.

Lopez won 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 to become the first Spanish man in the Wimbledon quarterfinals since 1972, while No. 21 Fernando Gonzalez defeated No. 31 Mikhail Youzhny 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), 6-3 to give Chile its first man in the final eight since 1985.

If tennis’ global reach is expanding, nothing comes close to matching the impressive strides made by Russia’s women. They won three Grand Slam titles last year and now have four quarterfinalists at a major for the first time: defending champ Maria Sharapova, No. 5 Svetlanta Kuznetsova, No. 8 Nadia Petrova and No. 9 Anastasia Myskina.

Sharapova didn’t face a break point in her 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 16 Nathalie Dechy. Myskina trailed by a set and two breaks against another Russian, No. 6 Elena Dementieva, who eventually held two match points. But Myskina came all the way back to win 1-6, 7-6 (9), 7-5.

Kuznetsova plays Davenport next. Today’s other women’s quarterfinals: Sharapova vs. Petrova, and Myskina vs. No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo.

The men’s quarterfinals Wednesday: No. 1 Roger Federer vs. Gonzalez, No. 2 Andy Roddick vs. No. 9 Sebastien Grosjean, No. 3 Hewitt vs. Lopez, and No. 12 Thomas Johansson vs. No. 18 David Nalbandian.

Two-time defending champion Federer beat Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (6), while Roddick defeated Guillermo Coria 6-3, 7-6 (1), 6-4. Roddick and Federer appear to be on course for a second consecutive final.

“It’s obviously something that I think about and dream about,” Roddick said. “But I’m not good enough to overlook the next two matches.”