Serena' opponent Elena Vesnina is an unranked 29 year old Russian who has gone up vs. the champ 4 times and has come away without taking a set.
Of course, if she has earned the semis (and she did so as a 6-2, 6-2 victor over the red hot #19 Cibulkova), she's playin.g above her history.
It happens that she is part of a Russian pair that will go up against the Sisters later in the day. The Russians are ranked #3 in doubles and have been champions at 2 recent Majors. I'm guessing her strategy will be to grab the net often, though that's difficult vs. Serena.
Angelique Kerber is this year's Aussie winner, and obviously by making the semis is again in good form. She's #4 here and had a tough match vs. #5 Simona Halep. Kerber has a 3-2 lifetime advantage over Venus, including the 2012 Olympics on grass. Our hope for Venus is that Kerber's victories have come this decade, while Venus' auto-immune response was in early times. This is her first semi since 2009, so she is perhaps at the peak of her mastery of this disease. It should be a close one.
I myself will be on the court during Serena's match, and I will be relying on fellow players to use their smartphones to let me know when it's time to rush home to see Venus.
I say this so that you readers take responsibility for reporting on Serena in my absence.
