Zheng Jie became the first Chinese player to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament Tuesday by beating Nicole Vaidisova 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 at Wimbledon. The 24-year-old Zheng is also the first female wild-card entrant to reach the semifinals at the All England Club and second at any Grand Slam. Zheng, playing at Wimbledon for only the third time, will face Serena Williams in the semifinals.

After more than a decade of chasing an elusive Grand Slam quarterfinal berth, Tamarine Tanasugarn finally got there Monday — and became the first Thai player to do so. The 60th-ranked Tanasugarn upset second-seeded Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 6-2 to reach the final eight at Wimbledon after losing in the fourth round six previous times.

Defending champion Venus Williams advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals after beating Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-4, 6-3 Tuesday. The four-time champion from the United States will face either Elena Dementieva or Nadia Petrova in the semifinals. Tanasugarn, at 31 the oldest women in the quarterfinals, made it past the fourth round for the first time in 12 appearances at the All England Club.

Cara Black is safe now in the traditions and serenity of Wimbledon. Back home, in Zimbabwe, it is far different and far more troubling. “It’s all over the news so I think everybody is aware what’s going on and players do ask me,” she told The Associated Press. “But every Zimbabwean is in the same situation so it’s frustrating, but you’ve just got to get on with things and hope things will be fine.”…

Jelena Jankovic hobbled into the second week of Wimbledon after injuring her knee. Whether she actually plays is another matter. Jankovic, seeded second, faced break point in the second set Saturday after losing the opener. It seemed Wimbledon was about to become the first Grand Slam of the Open era with the top three seeded women failing to make the fourth round.

Justin Gimelstob’s disparaging comments about Anna Kournikova have created a stir at Wimbledon, where World Team Tennis teammate Serena Williams denounced the remarks as unprofessional. Gimelstob retired from the men’s tour last year and is on the board of the ATP, which runs men’s tennis. He made sexual remarks about Kournikova and other female players on a Washington radio program “The Junkies”…

Bobby Reynolds’ third-round loss left Wimbledon without an American in the men’s singles draw. A dozen started Monday, including two-time finalist Andy Roddick, seeded sixth, and James Blake at No. 9. They were all gone on the fifth of 14 scheduled days. No. 102-ranked Reynolds was under all kinds of pressure Friday, this being the first time since 1926 that only one U.S.

Andy Roddick could sense himself losing it. First he blinked, then he choked. Janko Tipsarevic saw it happening, and he tightened his grip. Sixth-seeded Roddick, who lost the 2004 and ’05 Wimbledon finals to Roger Federer and was touted by none other than the great Rod Laver to make the 2008 final, instead made his earliest exit ever at the All England Club on Thursday, a 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (4)…

Sixth-seeded Andy Roddick has been upset in the second round at Wimbledon, losing to Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia. Roddick, who lost the 2004 and 2005 Wimbledon finals to Roger Federer, was beaten 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (4) by 40th-ranked Tipsarevic, who has never gone past the fourth round at a major.

Amelie Mauresmo has withdrawn from the doubles at Wimbledon after straining her left hip. The 2006 Wimbledon singles champion remains hopeful of playing two-time winner Serena Williams in the third round of the singles Friday after beating Virginia Ruano Pascual in the second round. She had been scheduled to play doubles with Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova, who is seeded fourth in the singles.

Defending champion Venus Williams has overcome a rash of errors and trouble with her serve to beat British player Anne Keothavong and advance to the third round at Wimbledon. Seventh-seeded Williams, bidding for a fifth Wimbledon title, beat Keothavong 7-5, 6-2 in 1 hour, 44 minutes on Thursday. Williams made 26 unforced errors, mostly in the 69-minute first set.

Former champion Lindsay Davenport withdrew from Wimbledon on Thursday with an injured right knee. The 32-year-old American pulled out before her scheduled second-round match on Court 3 against Argentina’s Gisela Dulko, who advanced to the third round by walkover. Davenport, the 1999 champion, hobbled past Renata Voracova 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in her opening match on Tuesday with her knee heavily taped.

Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic has survived a big scare to advance to the third round at Wimbledon with a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3), 10-8 win over Nathalie Dechy. The 20-year-old Serbian had raced into a 3-0 in the first six minutes on Court No. 1 Wednesday but became erratic and had to save two match points against the No.

Third-seeded Novak Djokovic has been ousted by Russia’s Marat Safin in the second round of Wimbledon. Australian Open champion Djokovic lost 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 to the No.75-ranked Safin on Centre Court on Wednesday. Three double faults in the final game ended the 21-year-old Serbian player’s hopes of improving on his run to the semifinals at the All England Club last year.

Dinara Safina reached her first Grand Slam final this month at the French Open. More than two weeks later, she has fulfilled her goal for the year. Ranked No. 9, Safina has been advised by the Russian Tennis Federation that she can play singles for the Olympic team at Beijing in August. The spot came open when No.