Venus is a seed who thrives amid the rain

Venus Williams has been an oasis of calm at the All England Club and her policy of accepting what the elements come up with is serving her well.

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So well that she is making a nonsense of the seeding committee's decision to place her at only 23 and yesterday she eased into the semi-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over former U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.

She made light of her second match in 24 hours with a dominant display. Players in the bottom half of both draws have a backlog of matches to clear but she insists she has been happy with the disruption this week.

"Rain is good for me," she said. "I feel like I achieve clarity when it rains. The longer I have to sit and wait the clearer my game becomes to me."

If this sounds like the philosophical twaddle you might associate with southern California, it is no coincidence.

"I think the rain has a special significance for me because I grew up where it never rains," she said. "When it did rain it meant we had a day off from practice so I've always found the rain very calming."

She looks formidable ahead of her semi-final against Ana Ivanovic, and, after the graceless departure of her sister, she is the only player left with the faintest chance of stopping Justine Henin.

Her Wimbledon record of three singles titles is far superior to that at the other Grand Slams. When she last won it two years ago she was seeded only 14, still nine places higher than she is now after injuries reduced her world ranking to 31.

But her last two matches have been her sharpest in a long time and she has also been fired up by resentment and criticism aimed at Serena this year.

The grass suits her big-serving game and the Centre Court also gives her confidence.

"I've had a lot of success here, the Centre Court has been good to the Williams family," she said.

Kuznetsova, who could double as a James Bond baddie, gave away the break in the first set with a duff volley but her groundstrokes forced an exchange of breaks in the second.

The only surprise was how tight Williams got in trying to close out the contest, when five match points were needed.