Serena Williams through to Wimbledon semifinals, to face Jie Zheng of China

Serena Williams brushed aside the challenge of Agnieszka Radwanska to book her place in the Wimbledon final four where she will face unexpected semifinalist Jie Zheng of China, whose impressive run has continued as she overcame Nicole Vaidisova.

Sixth seed Serena Williams defeated Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwanska with a dominant 6-4 6-0 victory. Williams posted only six unforced errors in the match, and by the end of the fifty-one minute quarterfinal, she hit twenty-seven winners and only dropped two service points during the second set. Chinese wildcard Jie Zheng, who upset world No.1 Ana Ivanovic in the third round and beat seed No.15 Agnes Szavay in the next round, got past 18th seed Nicole Vaidisova 6-2 5-7 6-1 in the quarterfinals.

Doubles specialist Zheng, who missed the whole 2007 season due to an ankle injury, saw her singles ranking slip from 27 to outside the Top 100 because of the absence. However, world No.133 Zheng, who had never previously been past the third round at a Grand Slam, became the first Chinese player to reach semifinals of a major.

Here’s what Zheng said about her achievements at Wimbledon 2008 and her chances against Williams:

“Did I think I could reach the semifinals when I was given a wildcard? No. I have not thought any of my matches have been easy but I have just tried my best and I have just kept going. I cannot believe I have got this far. Serena is a two-times winner and a very prominent player on grass – I am in the semifinals for the first time. In 2004, I lost to her in the first round when she was the defending champion. I hope I do better this time.”