SW19, Ladies best moments

After her semi-final exit at Roland Garros, Serena Williams was not going to be denied. But when she dropped the first set in 27 minutes in the quarter-finals against fellow American Jennifer Capriati, observers suddenly remembered that Capriati was the last player to beat Serena at Wimbledon -- at the same stage in 2001.

But the strangely wayward defending champion suddenly clicked into gear and after she broke serve with a bludgeoning backhand to lead 3-2 in the second set, the tide began to turn. She raced through the next six games to lead 3-0 in the decider and, although eighth seed Capriati hung on gamely -- winning one incredible 31-stroke rally when serving to stay in the match -- Serena proved unstoppable.

"She played really well, I don't think there was much that I could do out there," former world number one Capriati said. "She had to play her best to beat me. This is the closest I've been to beating her for a long time."

At 31, Italy's Silvia Farina Elia finally reached her first-ever Grand Slam quarter-final. This all-court style player, who is coached by her husband Francesco Elia, didn't drop a single set and beat seventh seed Chanda Rubin during her run.

Her terrific forehand and baseline attack allowed her to give Roland Garros runner-up Kim Clijsters a great fight. Farina Elia outgunned Clijsters in the first set taking it 7-5 but succombing to Clijsters' power.

Nonetheless, Farina Elia can celebrate the best Grand Slam performance ever in the Open Era by an Italian woman.

Reduced to tears after falling to unseeded Shinobu Asagoe in the second round, ninth seed Daniela Hantuchova can't seem to regain the form that thrust her into the top ten last year.

This feisty Japanese player made an incredible fight back from one set down to outplay the Slovakian star in a three set thriller where the third set alone lasted 104 minutes.

The two players produced an exceptional display of stamina as they battled through the 2-3/4-hour match, each raising their fist with cries of 'come on!' with each point won.

After Asagoe levelled the set to one set all, Hantuchova seemed to be in control in the decider but she didn't count on Asagoe's incredible will to stay in the match. Asagoe forced Hantuchova into a series of long rallies and the more dogged she was, the more frustrated Hantuchova became.

At 10-10 Asagoe broke Hantuchova for the fourth time when the Slovakian double-faulted. She served a 93-mph (149.7 km) ace to earn match point and saw out her superb victory when Hantuchova put her return of serve into the net in the longest deciding set of the tournament.

Look out for16-year old Maria Sharapova, who hails from industrial Siberia. The Russian was awarded a wild card into the main draw by the organisers. And it was a great choice as she astonished the fans with her grace and beauty.

After a great first and second round wins over American rising start Ashley Harkleroad and compatriot Elena Bovina, Sharapova got a chance to measure herself up to 11th seed Jelena Dokic.

This new Wimbledon darling dished out a tennis lesson to the 11th seed capturing the crowd's heart. Named "the new Kounikova", this wildcard has now only one thing on her mind, "I enter every tournament to win it, that's my philosophy," she said.