Wimbledon 2012: Williams sisters advance to semi-finals

Venus Williams (l) and Serena Williams (r) in action against Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova July 4, 2012 at Wimbledon. PHOTO/Julian Finney/Getty Images

A couple of hours after reaching her seventh Wimbledon final, Serena Williams returned to Centre Court with sister Venus to secure a spot in the semifinals of the doubles tournament.

The Williams sisters routed Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears 6-1, 6-1 in less than hour Thursday. The Williams sisters are playing a doubles tournament for the first time in two years and are looking for their fifth Wimbledon title together. They’ll next play Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond.

(More: Wimbledon 2012: Serena Williams beats Victoria Azarenka – advances to finals)

Serena Williams beat second-ranked Victoria Azarenka in straight sets earlier Thursday to move one win away from her fifth Wimbledon title. Venus Williams was eliminated in the first round of the singles tournament, the latest setback in her return to tennis after being diagnosed with an energy-sapping autoimmune disease.

With Venus’ situation in mind, Serena said another doubles title “would be so awesome.”
“We’re having so much fun,” Serena said. “We played really well today actually. We’re really enjoying ourselves, so we really hope that we can hope we can win two (more) matches in doubles.”

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press