Graf holds off Venus, Serena’s surges and more Wimbledon quarterfinals

Welcome to Wimbledon Rewind, where wtatennis.com takes a look back at some of the most memorable matches from the past two decades at The Championships. From breakthroughs to comebacks, rewind the clock and check out our list of the best quarterfinal matches, laid out in chronological order.

Wimbledon Round Reviews
Gauff ascends, Serena survives through first round thrillers
Venus, Navratilova, Date turn back the clock in second round classics
Serena survives Watson, Kvitova conquers Venus in first-week finishes 
Kerber, Lisicki, Cibulkova bring fourth-round fire with epic battles

1999: Stefanie Graf [2] def. Venus Williams [6], 6-2, 3-6, 6-4

Tennis was about to experience a changing of the guard, with the rise of the Williams sisters coinciding with the end of the career of Stefanie Graf, the game’s foremost talent in the 1990s. But the German refused to hand over her mantle at the All-England Club, where she overcame Venus in what proved to be her last Wimbledon quarterfinal, mere weeks before her retirement.

She knew well what the up-and-coming American was capable of, having lost their two previous meetings and also suffered at the hands of Serena in Indian Wells, and she summoned her best level in what she later said was an “incredible match” of “unbelievable tennis."

On a wet summer’s afternoon in London, the two players light up SW19, with Graf making the early running after the players shared the opening four games. Venus was undeterred, continuing to show an aggressive attitude in the second set that regularly brought her to the net and ultimately brought her back on terms.

Although it was the experience of Graf that prevailed, she was left impressed her opponent.

“She has the game,” the seven-time champion said. And her analysis proved to be correct as Venus would go on to win The Championships a year later – the first of five occasions she would lift the Venus Rosewater Dish.

2000: Venus Williams [5] def. Martina Hingis [1], 6-3, 4-6, 6-4

Wimbledon 2000 was Venus’ maiden Grand Slam singles title and it was achieved the hard way, with a formidable sequence of matches in the second week. From the quarterfinals onwards, she had to see off three all-time greats to win the trophy, with wins over sister Serena and Lindsay Davenport preceded by a three-set success over No.1 seed Martina Hingis.

The opening five months of the year had been missed through injury, but the clay court season had teed her up sufficiently to enjoy arguably the greatest period of her career as she charged to 35 successive victories, encompassing victories in six tournaments.

The match that set up that run more than any other came in the last eight at Wimbledon, where Venus’ firepower ultimately told against the craft of Hingis.

It was an encounter filled with memorable moments, but while the two highlights of the meeting arguably came from the Swiss player’s racquet – a winner after anticipating a smash into the open court from her opponent and a one-handed backhand winner down the line – the heat the American packed in her hitting was simply too much.

Venus, buoyed by this victory, did not drop another set in the tournament as she became a major winner for the first time.

2003: Serena Williams [6] def. Jennifer Capriati [8], 2-6, 6-2, 6-3

Serena would successfully defend the title she won in 2002, but she had to overcome a wobble in her quarterfinal victory over compatriot Jennifer Capriati in order to do set up a semifinal against Justine Henin.

The quarterfinals of 2003 proved to be entertaining affairs, with three going the distance and two seeing players recover from a set down to win, including Serena.

The 21-year-old approached the match with a dominant record against her opponent, but while she had won the previous seven meetings between the players (all in either the semis or finals of tournaments), she was forced to go three sets on six occasions, with Capriati having won the opener in all of their previous three.

True to form, it was Capriati who struck first, with Serena struggling to find her rhythm as she was broken twice. In the second set, the younger player raised her game to equalize before a single break was sufficient in the decider.

“The way I played today I don't think anyone else could have beaten me. The only reason she beat me is because of the way she served and no one else serves like that,” Capriati said.

Serena, who had reached the French Open final by recovering from a set behind to beat the same player, commented: “It was definitely tough. I knew I would have a tough match because she's being playing very well and I hadn't beaten her on grass.”

She would go on to beat Henin then Venus as she won the crown for a second time.

2007: Ana Ivanovic [6] def. Nicole Vaidisova [14], 4-6, 6-2, 7-5

The 2007 quarterfinal encounter between Ana Ivanovic and Nicole Vaidisova was billed as a match that would showcase the future of women’s tennis. Both players were already ranked inside the Top 10 and had already appeared in the latter stages of major events, but while Ivanovic’s victory would propel her to become a Grand Slam champion, defeat began a spiral of decline for her rival.

It was the Serb who seemed to have the greater problems settling on Centre Court, however, as she was broken in her opening service game and seemed to be in major trouble as she similarly fell behind in the second.

Ivanovic, though, picked her way out of that predicament with some blistering power. In an encounter that showcased two big-hitting youngsters, it was the forehand of the French Open finalist that prevailed as she won six of seven games after falling a set and a break down.

Vaidisova’s response was a positive one. She claimed a break to move 2-1 up and worked her way into a 3-5 advantage. Staring down the barrel when serving at 15-40, Ivanovic produced two huge forehands to get her out of trouble and alter the trajectory of not only the match but her whole career as she won the last four games to claim a memorable success.

2010: Petra Kvitova def. Kaia Kanepi [Q], 4-6, 7-6(8), 8-6

Petra Kvitova’s shock run to the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2010 should be remembered as one of the great Grand Slam efforts of the last decade.

The 20-year-old Czech had not won a Tour match on grass before arriving at the All-England Club but took out seeded players Zheng Jie and Victoria Azarenka before dancing past No.3 seed Caroline Wozniacki for the loss of a couple of games in the fourth round.

In the last eight she would face qualifier Kaia Kanepi, who had caused her own upsets by overcoming No.6 seed Samantha Stosur and No.31 seed Alexandra Dulgheru.

The Estonian qualifier continued her blistering form in the early stages of this encounter and seemed likely to make her first major semi as she won the first set and crafted three break points in a tiebreaker.

Kvitova’s response was formidable when faced with adversity and she was able to grind out the second set, yet she flagged at the beginning of the decider and fell 0-4 behind, with her usually reliable serve continually misfiring.

Once again, she found the resources to recover, with her groundstrokes making their mark as Kanepi, who had five match points overall, faded.

“I feel like I’m playing the best tennis of my life, but it’s very hard to keep that level,” she said ahead of her final-four match against Serena. “I’m not the favourite so I can just play my best game and enjoy it. But I don’t think I’ll be the Wimbledon champion!”

Kvitova was only partially correct. Although she was beaten by Serena, she returned a year later to win the title, then repeated the feat in 2014.

2013: Agnieszka Radwanska [4] def. Li Na [6], 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-2

The 2013 quarterfinal encounter between Agnieszka Radwanska and Li Na might have lacked the type of big hitting that has typically wrought success on grass courts, but it more than made up for it with the intelligent tennis both played, which made for an absorbing encounter.

Li had the initiative in the opening set only to see it wrestled from her by some brilliance from the Pole, whose anticipation skills saw her turn a rally on its head after a smash, then strike a winner on return of serve. When the Chinese hit the net after a lengthy exchange, Radwanska, the highest seed left in the tournament, had sealed the first set.

A brief rain stoppage followed but the momentum remained with Radwanska until Li, who was getting to the net, broke to level at 4-4 then showcased some hard hitting to level the match.

Further drama was added by a medical stoppage as Radwanska received treatment to a quad, but this improved her movement as she broke to love in the first game of the decider.

A second rain break followed, and with the roof now over Centre Court, Radwanska held off her belligerent opponent, ultimately sealing the match on her eighth break point.

“Li played unbelievable tennis. I was just happy to get through after struggling in the final set,” she said. “Too much tennis the last few days, always struggling with that – but it's a good problem to have, and I just have to keep going.”

Sabine Lisicki ultimately stopped her in the following round, with those extra miles taking a toll in a match she lost, 6-4, 2-6, 9-7.

2015: Serena Williams [1] def. Victoria Azarenka [23], 3-6, 6-2, 6-3

The 2015 quarterfinal between Serena and Victoria Azarenka produced a quality of tennis that was more befitting of a final, as the pair, who have a habit of bringing out the best in each other, readily exchanged winners in a thrilling duel in which the American prevailed in three tough sets.

Azarenka, who had held three match points against Serena before losing in Madrid earlier in the year and suffered a tight defeat against the same opponent in the French Open, was inspired in the opening stages as she produced arguably her best set of tennis on the big stage to move into the ascendancy.

The response of her opponents, who was chasing her second ‘Serena Slam’, was that of a champion, however. Against a rival she had defeated 16 times in 19 previous meetings, she conjured her best level, hitting the lines with regularity and striking the ball with both depth and power.

Having produced an uncharacteristically up-and-down four matches to that point, Serena seemed to finally click into gear after falling a set down against her friend and rounded out the match by hitting six aces in her final two service games as she recovered to set up a semi against Maria Sharapova.

“I can’t say I went out there and didn’t play well,” the Belarusian said. “We just saw today why Serena is No. 1. I haven’t seen her play like this, honestly, even in the last matches before that.”

And those thoughts were echoed by Serena’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

“Serena has played at this level before, when she won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics here. But she was totally dominating her opponents. It was one-way traffic. Azarenka pushed her to another level today, and that is rare,” he said.

2017: Johanna Konta [6] def. Simona Halep [2], 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-4

Johanna Konta faced off against Simona Halep with the aim of becoming the first British woman to reach the semifinals of Wimbledon since Virginia Wade in 1978.

The Romanian was coming off the back of a run to the French Open final and opened impressively against the home favorite, reading the Konta serve impressively to open up a 4-1 advantage in the opening set. The home player exploded into life in the middle part of the opener, hitting back with eight successive points, but Halep dug her heels in to win the tiebreak.

It was Konta exerting the pressure in the second set, and though she missed two chances to move 5-3 clear, this time it was her who prevailed in the breaker.

An early Halep break point was dismissed with a brilliant sweeping forehand onto the line, and minutes later Konta engineered a break that proved to be decisive. In front of a standing Centre Court crowd, she celebrated victory after her opponent netted.

“I knew against Simona she wasn't going to give me much for free and I had to create my own chances and I took a few of them,” she said.

“I felt consistent in my approach and in my general being out there. I continued to trust in myself.”