Williams stands in way of Zvonareva matching Sharapova's feat

Tomorrow she will face Russia's Vera Zvonareva who had earlier demonstrated her battling qualities to come from a set down to reach her first Wimbledon final by defeating Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova 3-6 6-3 6-2.

Williams won 7-6 (7/5) 6-2 against world No 62 Kvitova who matched her for muscle from the start of a big-hitting contest and suggested she will challenge at the All England Club in years to come. Williams had been expected to steamroller an opponent who was playing only her fourth senior level semi-final and to whom she had lost just three games in their only previous meeting in Melbourne this year.

But Kvitova's form has been there for all to see in a series of exceptional victories at the All England Club this fortnight, including a remarkable 6-2 6-0 success over third seed Caroline Wozniacki in the last 16.

From the start Kvitova's sheer aggression knocked Williams off balance as the Czech ruthlessly exposed the world No 1's second serve and hit a series of blistering forehand winners.

Kvitova drew first blood in the fourth game when a flashing return on break point was too good for Williams. Playing almost flawless tennis, Kvitova held for a 4-2 lead.

Williams responded and started to match Kvitova's power, forcing her opponent's previously solid forehand to go astray, and broke back for 4-4.

Williams then went on to clinch the first set on a tie-break, though it took her three set points to do so, booming down an unreturnable serve to eventually clinch it 7-5.

After saving a break point in her first game of the second set Kvitova again proved undaunted by her situation, going on to hold to love for a 2-1 lead.

Even a break by Williams in the fifth game did not quite snuff out Kvitova's challenge, as the left-handed Czech flung winning forehands to extend her opponent to three deuces in the following game.

She was forced to finally accept defeat after Williams double-broke on a double-fault for 5-2 – though not before Kvitova had saved the first break point against her with a forehand winner at the end of an extraordinary 19-stroke rally.

The bookmakers do not fancy Zvonareva's chances of emulating Maria Sharapova, Russia's only other Wimbledon champion, in 2004, but Zvonareva will relish the chance to defy the odds.

She said: "I think I haven't realised it yet that I will be playing in the final. But it's one of my dreams to be out there on the Centre Court and playing in the finals of Wimbledon.

"It's going to be a tough challenge. Serena is a great player, the defending champion and very tough to play against.

"But I always believe in myself. I think I will just have to go out there and try to play my best.

"I know, if I play my best tennis, I can beat anyone on the other side of the net. That's what I'm going to try to do. I never look at any odds or comparisons. It's not important to me."

Zvonareva, the 21st seed, could not live with world No 82 in the first set as Pironkova produced a series of blistering forehand and backhand winners.

But the Russian weathered the storm and took advantage of a tiring opponent, winning 10 of the next 13 games to secure one of the best wins of her career.

"It was very tough out there against a very tough opponent," Zvonareva said. "I'm happy with the way I was able to hang in the match and turn it around."

Pironkova, who had knocked out five-times champion Venus Williams in the previous round, said: "Of course she has a chance for the final.

"All of her strokes were really powerful and she made very good net approaches.

"I started really well but Vera started to play amazingly in the second and third sets.

"She started to play more aggressively and I couldn't put my first serve in the court as much as in the first set. That gave me a lot of trouble."