Serena sets up all Williams final

Only the rain looked likely to detain Serena Williams in her quest to book a third Wimbledon final against her sister as she proceeded to make short work of China's Zheng Jie on Centre Court.

Williams was preparing to serve for the first set at 5-2 when the weather turned with 27 minutes on the clock and the players were ushered off court for the first time today.

Williams had proved simply too powerful for the 5ft 4in Chinese player, who had confounded expectation to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final despite a lowly world ranking of 133.

Williams set the predictable course for the match from the outset, breaking Zheng in the opening game of the match when she swatted away a big backhand at the net.

Zheng did manage to hold her second service game and showed some signs of a dramatic revival when a brilliant backhand cross-court winner gave her a 0-30 advantage on the Williams serve.

But Williams fought back and went on to claim a double-break, encountering unexpected resistance at 5-1 when Zheng rallied from 0-40 and saved four set points on her own serve to delay the seemingly inevitable.

Resuming after the short rain delay, Williams took less than two minutes to wrap up the first set 6-2 and move within a set of booking her place back in a Wimbledon final.

Zheng produced her most competent service game to get the second set up and running but her big problem was exactly how to get a grip on the consistently booming Williams serve.

The favourite responded with another love service game but Zheng was slowly mounting more of a challenge, coming off best in a trio of gruelling baseline rallies to regain her advantage at 2-1.

The Chinese player's athletic approach was delighting the Centre Court crowd who were desperate to see some semblance of a contest after the weary predictability of Venus' earlier victory over Elena Dementieva.

Zheng responded, a fine smash securing her first break point on the Williams serve at 3-2, and a searing backhand return giving her the break her increasingly adventurous play richly deserved.

The break only served to wake up Williams, who immediately responded by breaking Zheng back to 15, but Zheng proved anything but intimidated.

The Chinese girl was on the point of serving out for a 6-5 lead in the set, with a 40-30 advantage, when a sudden downpour made finishing the game impossible and necessitated a second rain break.

Zheng saved two break points before closing out her crucial service game, then fashioned a set point on the Williams serve, wasting her opportunity by slamming a backhand return into the top of the net.

Williams held to force the tie-break, seizing control early with a succession of big serves and eventually breaking the commendable spirit of her opponent, who double-faulted to give the American a 6-2 7-6 (7/5) win.

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