Women's semi-final latest:

E DEMEN'VA (Rus) 5 v V WILLIAMS (US) 7

0-0

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LATEST ACTION (all times BST)
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By Tom Fordyce at Wimbledon

1303: These pearls from Elena just before Venus through to Wimbledon semis ...
Supreme Federer crushes Gicquel ...
Sharapova stunned by Kudryavtseva ...
Murray gets past tricky Santoro ...
Spirited Murray falls to Almagro ...
Court upholds life sentence for Czech double murderer ... she strides onto court: "I just have to play well, I hope to enjoy the moment. I'm playing such a big champion."

And this from Venus: "This is what I've prepared for all my life. I'm very focused on this match, and I'm ready to play well."

1300: Centre Court no more than a fifth full at the mo - those Tube horrors clearly still in full effect.

1255: Thank you Cheese - dash off and grab us a brace of tuna baguettes, will you?

By Caroline Cheese at Wimbledon

1247: Right then, not long to go until Venus Williams and Elena Dementieva arrive on Centre Court, which is drenched in sunshine as I type. Tom Fordyce will be right here imminently to take you through that match so stay tuned...

1244: "Was at Wimbo on Tuesday. Great day partly spoiled by a couple of bankers - yes, bankers - on a corporate day out both half blotto trying to outdo each other with stories of hedge funds and fanciful salaries which grew ever larger as the sun got hotter and the champers took effect."
Ian in Northern Ireland, via text on 81111

1241: Oh right. You want to know what's actually going on in the tennis. Well, in the big junior boys' clash on Court 18, Bernie Tomic and Brazilian Henrique Cunha are on serve in the first set. Slovenian fifth seed Polona Hercog is struggling against Slovakian Romana Tabakova. Finland's Henri Kontinen is hammering Dane Propoggia. And some other things.

1237: "Watching Jamie Murray in the mixed doubles yesterday, it seemed the only tactic was to hit it at the female team member! Am I missing something?"
Andy, London, via text on 81111
No.

1233: "Re 0954: The 'new darling of British tennis' is of course an Aussie."
Anon via text on 81111
She may have been born in Melbourne but with a name like Robson, she's got to be a true Brit right?

1226: Mansour Bahrami and Henri Leconte are warming up on Court 16. Those two jokers are inseparable. They spent the whole of yesterday sat together in the Royal Box, no doubt plotting some hilarious practical jokes for their match against Vijay Amritraj and Gene Mayer later. I can hardly wait.

1220: "Much excitement over on court 18 as Aussie wonderkid Bernard Tomic arrives. The 15-year-old is playing Queen's junior champion Henrique Cunha so it should be a great game. However, Aussies + court 18 = frantic Mexican waves. I'm going down to the basement. Somebody let me know when it's finished."
BBC Sport mole

1213: If it seems a bit quiet around the grounds - which it does - it's probably because most people are living a London Transport nightmare. BBC Sport's Chris Bevan arrives an hour and a half after getting to Earls Court. Just to update you: no Circle Line and severe delays on the District, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City lines. Splendid.

1207: As the players head for the courts under threatening clouds, let's have a little look at the Royal Box invites shall we? Ex-England coach Sir Clive Woodward, ex-England cricketer Alan Mullally, Ipswich chairman David Sheepshanks. Not exactly glittering is it? But wait... Sir Cliff returns! And he's joined by Crown Prince Frederick and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.

1159: "Re 1146: Surely they're ball kids! That's what they say in the US or is that not PC? BTW I predict Venus to win in three and Zheng to thrash Serena in two."
Toby, Holborn, via text on 81111

1150: Terrific news from the Voice of Wimbledon. They are expecting "one or two showers and some sunshine in between - with the possibility that those showers could bypass Wimbledon altogether."

1146: With 15 minutes until play begins (and the sun shining), BBC Sport's Tom Fordyce arrives with a burning question. What is the collective noun for ball boys and ball girls? A scuttle? A scamper?

1141: "What are my chances of getting in on Saturday, should I queue from Friday evening?"
Leonard via text on 81111
There are no tickets available for Centre Court on the last four days of Wimbledon.

1133: "Dementieva to shock Venus Williams today."
icecool_kk on 606
Join the debate on 606

1128: "Re 1043: As I alluded to last week the Hoff was allegedly ejected from Wimbledon in 2006 for being 'drunk' and giving it large with the 'Do you know who I am? I'm the Hoff' treatment. All denied, I hasten to add. During that ill-fated trip to London he had an accident with a chandelier. How do you have an accident with a chandelier? My favourite Hoff fact (and there are many): Two years ago the Baywatch star, who has sold millions of records in Germany over the years, expressed his disappointment that he was not recognized as having helped end the Cold War through his music. Dates have just been released for the Hoff's next world tour, called World Peace. Check out his website as he gigs himself around the world's hot spots, it starts in Baghdad in January."
BBC Sport mole

1115: "How will Murray reaching the quarter-finals affect his world ranking?"
Lynne, wishing he'd made the semis, Cambridge, via text on 81111
Back in the top 10.

1108: "Re 1043: The Hoff is definitely coming to Wimbledon tomorrow with his daughters. It was on Radio 1 this morning. He's also just recently single too apparently. Your luck could be in Caroline."
James the geophysicist, via text on 81111

1049: "From Paris to Berlin, and every disco I get in, my heart is pumping for love..." So blares out Radio Wimbledon's latest incongruous choice of record. Time for me to get a coffee. Back in 10.

1045: I have a feeling the sun and rain graphics are going to be busy today. The covers are off on Centre Court - along with what looked like white plastic bags covering the bare patches on the baseline.

1043: "The celeb of all celebs has said he wants to visit Wimbledon tomorrow. That is David Hasselhoff of course. Keep an eye out and ask him to sing a song on Centre Court if it rains."
Jon, Swindon, via text on 81111
I have no idea if this is true. But I'm excited anyway.

1039: Judy Murray tells Radio Wimbledon of Andy's plans... "He's supposed to be playing in Indianapolis so I think he'll have a few days off and then head to the States." So there we are.

1033: What more horrors has this day in store for us? BBC Sport's Chris Bevan phones in with news that the District and Circle Lines are suspended "due to faulty communications equipment". Who's going to get my refreshments now?????!

1030: "Are they still playing tennis? Isn't a wake more appropriate?"
Dave in The City, via text on 81111
It does feel a bit like one at the moment... (see Mole at 1020)

1025: They're about to open the gates. "For your own and others' safety, please do not run," says Mrs Voice of Wimbledon. The only place they'll be running is for shelter. Still raining.

1020: "Feel lower than a snake's belly today. There's a bad vibe around Wimbledon, glum faces, dark clouds, not a single freebie on offer. To be honest I'm still reeling from paying six pounds for chips and beans in the canteen last night. When you order a meal suitable for an eight year-old you don't expect to pay such ludicrous sums. While in there I was witness to the ugly sight of BBC Sport's Ben Dirs ordering four stir fries. It's highly likely they were all for him. Comfort eating at its very worst."
BBC Sport mole

1011: Lorks. It's absolutely tipping down. So glad I brought my waterproof in today.

1006: We'll obviously be on the look-out for celebrities again today, but frankly nothing is going to beat the bumper truck-load we had in yesterday. Light entertainment heavyweights Forsyth, Tarbuck and Titchmarsh were in the Royal Box - while prowling the grounds was the one and only Jay-Z. I didn't see him, which is a source of some regret for him and me after my hard-hitting interview with uber-producer and N.E.R.D. singer Pharrell Williams a couple of years ago at Wimbledon. Me: "So who's your favourite player?" Pharrell: "Oh I don't know anything about tennis." Me: "Oh OK. Have a nice day then."

0954: And you won't look out of place in your Union Jack jester hat and face paint today - providing you're actually at Wimbledon, not just sitting at your office desk or out shopping or something. On Court 18, the new darling of British tennis Laura Robson is in quarter-final action against Serbia's Bojana Jovanovski. And on Court 19, Naomi Broady tackles Thailand's Noppawan Lertcheewakarn. Good luck to her. I had a hard enough time tackling that name.

0943: And so on to today's action. Venus and Serena Williams will meet at a Grand Slam for the first time since 2005, and the first major final since Wimbledon in 2003, if they can get past Elena Dementieva and Jie Zheng respectively. After winning their doubles match yesterday, the sisters were given a grilling by the press. Here's Serena on their favourite take-away food: "This year we've been eating a lot of Chinese food. Just lots of, you know, chicken and rice, so..."

0937: "It's not all glamour in the women's game. On way to work just saw Jill Craybas heading onto the Tube at West Brompton. Don't think she's still in anything but she was in her tracksuit! Let's hope the District Line is not delayed."
Andy, Balham, via text on 81111

0923: Rafa Nadal doesn't yet know his opponent in Friday's semi-finals. Arnaud Clement and Rainer Schuettler were locked at one set all when bad light stopped play. They're due to return at 1300 BST on Court One, but if they caught a replay of Nadal's destruction of Andy Murray, I wouldn't blame either of them if they were on the first flight out of London. But then I'm not a professional sportsperson.

0917: Amid all the Murray-related kerfuffle yesterday, I don't think we gave Marat Safin his proper dues did we? The raging Russian came back from a disastrous first set to beat grass-court expert Feliciano Lopez and book a semi-final against Roger Federer. Safin beat Federer in his last Grand Slam semi-final so he must think he's in with a chance on Friday, right? Wrong... "I'm playing semi-finals, but that doesn't mean that I have a chance, because the guy has won how many times already here? To beat Federer you need to be Nadal and run around like a rabbit and hit winners from all over the place. I think it's just a little bit too difficult it would be for me to beat him."

0911: Yesterday, chirpy BBC weatherwoman Carol Kirkwood was wearing a fabulous hot pink trench coat, today she's sporting a bright yellow one. Oh, how I wish I had that woman's wardrobe... and her permanently sunny demeanour for that matter. Maybe another coffee will help.

0906: And there's more from the Don. "You need to remember that in tennis right now, we have perhaps the best number one and two in the history of the game. Those are the facts, " says Nick. "Now find me a solution. Guys like Andy have to put themselves in a position to beat one of those guys. He has the type of game, but he has to add to it. His first serve percentage wasn't good enough yesterday."

0900: Still feeling sad about our Andy? Time for some perspective from the legend that is Nick Bollettieri. "I don't think there should be one negative thing said about Andy Murray this morning," the Don tells Radio Wimbledon. "All of you get your ass out on court with Rafa Nadal and you'll be running to the bathroom. You'll be scared to death. He's like a man from Mars."

0847: As I wandered out for a much-needed caffeine fix, it was sunny and raining! This country... Today's forecast is, basically, sunshine and showers.

0840: Morning. Wiped away the tears yet? Andymonium may have faded away, but don't go thinking that's British interest done and dusted. No, no, no. Our mixed doubles and girls' singles dreams remain very much alive. Failing that, there's always the Gentlemen's Invitational Doubles. Hurrah! Oh, and it's women's semi-finals day.

- We'll be here throughout the day to bring you the latest news from around the All England Club, both on the courts and off, so whether you're settling down at home, stuck in the office or queuing on Church Road, send us your thoughts.

(BBC)

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