Serena Williams
Seren Williams takes on Elena Vesnina in the semi-finals Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Serena Williams takes on Elena Vesnina in the women's singles semi-final clash of the 2016 Wimbledon Championship on Thursday (7 July).

Where to watch live

Match starts at 1pm BST. Live coverage of the game will be available in the UK on BBC One and BBC Two. Live scores and regular updates will be available on Wimbledon's official website. Live streaming of the day's play for audiences in the UK is available on the BBC IPlayerapp.

Click here to find out how to watch Wimbledon live online, on TV and mobile in the UK and abroad.

Overview

Serena is an undisputed favourite going into the game, having had the better of Vesnina on each and every occasion the duo have met in various ATP competitions. This would be the American's eighth straight foray into a grand slam semi-final and the 32nd in her career. The defending Champion would also make her 10th Wimbledon semi-final appearance, having won it six times in the process.

Serena needed only two break of serves to get the better of her opponent Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-4 to move into the next round. On both occasions in the set, she broke her opponent at 4-4 before holding her serve to win the set and eventually the match. This will be the first-ever singles Grand Slam semi-final for Vesnina, who has won two titles in the doubles department previously.

She had no trouble defeating Dominika Cibulkova, 6-2, 6-2 on her journey to the semis, with the Slovak flat on her tracks following a physically gruelling game against Agnieszka Radwańska, which went into the third set and into the 16th game. It was a brilliant show of attacking tennis for Vesnina, who held on with 22 winners and made only 10 unforced errors to take a foothold in the game.

It would be a momentous occasion for Vesnina, who started off her year as 115th in the world and had to make it past the qualifying rounds of the Australian Open where she suffered a loss in the first round. Since then she has a posted a 35-12 win-loss record for the calendar, capping it with a brilliant run in the flagship ATP tournament of the year.

Betting odds (betfair)

  • Serena Williams to win: 1/12
  • Elena Vesnina to win: 7

Head-to-head

The duo have faced each other 4 times at Grand Slam and ATP Tour events. Serena has emerged victorious on each of the four occasions, winning the games in straight sets.

Wimbledon history

This is the first time they are meeting in the Wimbledon finals.

Serena Williams