BRIEFLY : ACE, RECORD, MATCH; WILLIAMS LETS IT FLY: A 127-MPH SERVE.Byline: Daily News Wire Services Second-seeded Venus Williams Venus Ebone Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980 in Lynwood, California) is an American professional tennis player. She has been ranked the world's No. 1 female tennis player. As of July 2007, she is the reigning Wimbledon ladies' singles champion. blasted her way into the semifinals of the European Championships Friday, capping a 6-4, 6-1 victory over No. 7 Mary Pierce Mary Pierce (born on January 15, 1975, in Montreal, Canada) is a French-American women's professional tennis player on the WTA tour and the winner of a total of four Grand Slam titles: two in singles; and two in doubles. Pierce plays for France. with a world-record serve. At match point, Williams hammered a 127-mph serve past a stunned Pierce. ``That's something, that's crazy,'' said Williams, whose previous record was 125 mph at Wimbledon. ``I teed up for an ace. I hit that ball perfectly. It was great timing and technique. It'll be a while before I can get it faster.'' At today's semifinals in Zurich, Switzerland, Williams will meet fourth-seeded Nathalie Tauziat Nathalie Tauziat (born October 17, 1967, in Bangui, Central African Republic) is a former professional tennis player from France. Career Tauziat turned professional in 1984 and lived in Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera during the early stages of her career and later of France. Tauziat, the losing finalist last year, defeated Austria's Barbara Schett Barbara Schett (born 10 March 1976 in Innsbruck) is a former Austrian tennis player, who began playing professionally in 1992. She ended her career at the 2005 Australian Open. Between 1993 to 2004 she played in 48 games for the Austrian Fed Cup team, winning 30. 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. World No. 1 and defending champion defending champion n (SPORT) → defensor/a m/f del título defending champion n (Sport) → champion(ne) en titre Lindsay Davenport Lindsay Ann Davenport (born June 8 1976 in Palos Verdes, California) is a former World No. 1 American professional female tennis champion. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments: the 1998 U.S. Open, 1999 Wimbledon, and the 2000 Australian Open. beat sixth-seeded Amanda Coetzer 6-3, 6-1 for her seventh straight victory over the South African. In the semifinals, Davenport will meet world No. 15 Irina Spirlea of Romania, a 6-4, 6-0 winner over eighth-seeded Dominique Van Roost. Top-seeded Pete Sampras took only 57 minutes to overpower o·ver·pow·er tr.v. o·ver·pow·ered, o·ver·pow·er·ing, o·ver·pow·ers 1. To overcome or vanquish by superior force; subdue. 2. To affect so strongly as to make helpless or ineffective; overwhelm. 3. unseeded Tim Henman 6-0, 6-3 and advance to the semifinals of the $800,000 CA Trophy tournament in Vienna, Austria. In today's semis, Sampras faces Todd Martin, who beat Cedric Pioline 6-4, 6-3 Friday. In another quarterfinal, second-seeded Patrick Rafter of Australia, the two-time U.S. Open champion, was upset by Britain's Greg Rusedski 6-3, 7-6 (7-3). Rusedski's semifinal opponent will be Slovak Karol Kucera, a 6-3, 6-2 winner over unseeded Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden. MOTOR SPORTS: Alex Zanardi was the fastest of 20 drivers who broke the Surfers Paradise street circuit qualifying record for Sunday's IndyCarnival Australia race. The already-crowned champion, who will race next year on the Formula One circuit, turned a fast lap of 109.002 mph on the repaved temporary street circuit. He covered 2.795 miles in 1 minute, 32.310 seconds in his Reynard-Honda. Dan Pardus earned his first Winston Cup start with a flourish, leading second-round qualifying for tonight's Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a superspeedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is a 2.5 mile (4 km) tri-oval race track facility with a seating capacity of 168,000 spectators. . Pardus will start 26th. He qualified at 189.946 mph, a speed that would have put him in the top 25 in Thursday's opening round of time trials. Bobby Labonte won the pole at 193.611. HOCKEY: Injuries, contract squabbles and a player's argument with the coach have nearly caused the Washington Capitals to run out of players, but they helped plug the gaps by trading for New York Islanders The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, a hamlet located on Long Island in Town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, United States. left wing Tom Chorske and signing restricted-free-agent defenseman Sergei Gonchar. Also, team sources said left wing Chris Simon, suspended after a spat with coach Ron Wilson on the bench during Tuesday's night game against Detroit, will be allowed return to practice today after missing Friday night's game against Montreal. Chorske, who has 114 goals and 115 assists with Montreal, New Jersey and Ottawa, was acquired along with the Islanders' eighth-round draft pick in 1999 in exchange for the Caps' sixth-round selection next year. Newly acquired Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev will miss at least two games with a bruised knee, the team said. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Venus Williams hits a backhand to Mary Pierce during their match in Switzerland. Michele Limina/Associated Press |
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