By: Matt DeCorso

Hey all! The semifinals have come as quick as ever! Your Berlin semifinalists are, Karolina Sprem, Jennifer Capriati, Amelie Mauresmo, and Venus Williams. The tournament organizers have to be excited that their projected semifinalists got through. Sprem has made the best progress through the tournament and now finds herself in her first ever Tier 1 semi. She has the daunting task of playing Venus as Cappy and Amelie take center stage as they battle for the 10th time. Mauresmo leads the series 5-4 but Jenny is anxious to abolish any doubt that she can beat the Frenchwoman in big matches. Ironically, the first time they met was in Berlin, in the final, in '01. Amelie won in a three setter but that was before Capriati capped her comeback with the French Open crown. Venus and Karolina have never played before but she will be sure to get some info from Serena as she and Sprem played in Amelia Island a couple weeks ago. Sprem lost in straights but challenged Serena to 7-5 in the second set. This wasn't a healthy Serena. Can Sprem beat her uninjured sister Venus? We'll find out tomorrow! Enjoy the preview!

Karolina Sprem versus Venus Williams

Venus won her 14th straight match yesterday and is looking to reach a personal best. It was in the '02 summer hardcourt swing she had 19 straight wins under her belt. She still needs 5 more match wins but a win in the semis and finals would give her 16 and by reaching the fourth round in Paris, she has 20 straight. Venus' streak was almost stripped away yesterday by gritty Argentine, Paola Suarez. Venus came through in three sets, 7-6 5-7 6-2. An interesting note is, when Venus has to go to three sets, she has only lost at the most 2 games. She beat Reeves 6-2 in the third in Charleston, Martinez 6-1 in the third in Charleston, and Zuluaga 6-0 in the third in Warsaw. That is a good stat, as it shows Venus' mental toughness throughout the match. In this match look for Venus to be bringing in Sprem to net a lot, as she isn't very comfortable up there. She will also be looking to attack the net.

Weakness: She may be tired after a three set tussle with Suarez.

The first time I saw Karolina was last year in Strasbourg, the week before the French Open. As a no name in the draw, she stunned Jelena Dokic en route to the finals before losing in three sets to Farina Elia. Then, a week after the French, she reached the Vienna semis on clay. This proved to me that she was a force to be reckoned with on clay. And, with her quarterfinal showing in Miami this year, she showed she is capable of winning on hard courts. She beat Zuluaga 6-3 6-3 yesterday and never looked in trouble. In this match look for Sprem to be hitting a lot of backhands as it is her weaker side but the more consistent.

Weakness: She wasn't intimidated by Serena in Amelia Island so that shouldn't be a factor today, but if Venus gets on a roll, Sprem may be on the flight home.

Who has the Edge?

Serve- Venus

Groundies- Venus

Movement- Venus

Intangibles- Sprem

Volley- Venus

The stats show a Venus romp, but don't count out the enthusiastic Croat yet. For Karolina, make sure you don't try to outhit Venus because she loves pace. Throw some junk at her. For Venus, get a high % of first serves in and don't hit too many errors.

Matt's Pick: Venus will be in her third straight final as she struggles a little but beats Sprem 7-5 6-1.

Thanks