Venus, Ivanovic land in Wimbledon sem

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Former world No. 1 star Venus Williams moved into familiar territory on Thursday, as she reached the semifinals at Wimbledon for the sixth time in her great career. The powerful American will face sixth-seeded Serbian Ana Ivanovic in Friday's women's final four at the venerable All England Club.
The 23rd-seeded Williams, a three-time Wimbledon champion, doused fifth- seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-4 in 1 hour, 25 minutes on the famed Centre Court. The steady Kuznetsova was the 2004 U.S. Open champion and reached last year's French Open finale.
Venus had her big serve broken only once by Kuznetsova, who, in turn, was broken three times by her American counterpart.
The 27-year-old Williams, who is the oldest woman still standing here, is now 49-7 lifetime at the All England Club. She owns five major titles, including Wimbledon championships in 2000, 2001 and 2005, and was the 2002 and 2003 runner-up here to her younger sister Serena.
The French Open finalist Ivanovic continued her winning ways at the last two majors by overcoming 14th-seeded Czech Nicole Vaidisova 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.
Ivanovic advanced on her second match point when a rattled Vaidisova committed a double fault after blowing three match points of her own only minutes earlier. A sloppy Vaidisova wound up with six double faults and 39 unforced errors, as Ivanovic moved on in just under two hours on Centre Court.
Friday's other semi will pit top-seeded/world No. 1 Belgian Justine Henin against 18th-seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli. The 22-year-old Bartoli will perform in his first-ever Grand Slam semifinal.
The six-time Grand Slam event champion Henin, last year's Wimbledon runner-up to France's Amelie Mauresmo, will appear in her fifth Wimbledon semi (2-2). The gritty Belgian also finished as the runner-up here in 2001, when she lost to Venus in the final while still a teenager.
The high-flying Henin has won her last 12 Grand Slam matches, including a third straight and fourth overall French Open title last month.
A determined Henin still needs Wimbledon to complete a career Golden Slam. She already owns Australian, French, U.S. Open and Olympic titles, not to mention a Fed Cup championship. She's trying to reach her sixth Grand Slam final in as many tries, as she appeared in all four major finals last year, skipped this year's Aussie Open and returned to the French Open final last month.
The red-hot Henin has won her last 16 matches on tour, including a grass- court title in Eastbourne the week before Wimbledon 2007 commenced.