Venus light years ahead as Henin falls to earth

It is perfectly possible for any of the other women in the world's top 10 to play the match of their life against either of the Williams sisters and still lose comprehensively. Belgium's Justine Henin was perhaps some way short of her very best, but after a feisty opening two games, which Henin won in 14 minutes of prolonged struggle, she was rushed to a 6-3, 6-2 defeat by a mighty tide of Venus Williams's ground strokes.

Henin lost the final to the elder Williams sister last year in three sets. In this, the first women's semi-final of the afternoon, she was left virtually impotent by a surge of power that she could only rarely still, and never for long enough.

"She was too strong and too good," said Henin, the world No6, whose delicious top-spin backhand, one of the delights of the women's game, was only spasmodically effective, and generally caged.

And so Williams, the reigning champion, has the opportunity tomorrow to become the first woman since Steffi Graf of Germany, now Mrs Andre Agassi, to win the Wimbledon title for three consecutive years.

In fact, in the Open era, only one other woman player has won three in a row, that being Martina Navratilova who won six of her nine singles championships between 1982 and 1987.

"Venus was so aggressive, so powerful, so what could I do?" said Henin. "I started good, and the beginning of the match was fine, but I had to get involved in so many rallies to win a point, and that was hard." Not that Henin tried to take anything away from Williams's performance. "She was simply better than me, a lot better."

Henin has strengthened the lower half of her body in order to both move more quickly, and to generate a little extra power. However, like Switzerland's Martina Hingis, who is still recovering from an ankle operation, she cannot match the physique of either of the Williams sisters, and is therefore at a distinct disadvantage.

Her serve is much better than Hingis, and her ground-strokes carry a little more weight, but like the former world No1, she cannot cope with prolonged and intensive power. Initially Williams made a number of unforced errors, which gave Henin some cause for optimism, but once the title holder was back in the groove the Belgian's challenge was abruptly stifled.

It was almost cruel, and certainly discouraging for both Henin and spectator alike. The Williams sisters are so far ahead of their immediate rivals now, with the possible exception of their compatriot Jennifer Capriati, that the element of competition, the lifeblood of sport, is frequently missing. It is clearly not their fault, but it makes for a decided lack of variety, something that Henin hinted at after her defeat.

"They are the two best players in the world. It's good for them, but I think that maybe the crowd like to see different players in grand slam finals. But if they make it to the final together its because they are playing well. It's a difficult situation."

There was no doubt that Henin forced Williams to play at her best, something she acknowledged on the day that she lost her No1 world ranking to her sister Serena, who will keep it no matter who wins tomorrow.

"I think it was the best match that I've played the whole tournament," Venus Williams said. "The intensity level was very high, and I think I raised my game to the occasion, especially on the ground strokes."

Henin's resolution never wavered but unlike in last year's final, which the Belgian lost 6-1, 3-6, 6-0, Williams never faltered once she had overcome that slightly awkward beginning, and she tends to be a slow starter anyway.

"There was nothing I could do. I tried to go to the net, and I was serving well, but she hit so many great returns," said Henin.

She managed to shrug and smiled a little wanly. Any further analysis or explanation was unnecessary.

Venus - Serena

Age- 22-20

Height- 6ft 1in-5ft 8in

Weight- 11st 6lb-9st 4lb

Seeding- 1-2

World ranking- 1-2

Head-to-head- 5 wins 3 wins

Career money- £6.7m-£5m

Grand slam wins- 4-2

WTA Tour titles- 25-15

Previous best at Wimbledon

Winner (2)- SF

Wimbledon 2002:

Fastest serve- 119mph-117mph

Aces- 18-37

Double faults- 7-8