Once again, a Russian woman has reached the semi-finals of a grand slam event by . . . beating another Russian.

Russian women have won three grand slam titles, two of the three times by beating another (actually, the same) Russian woman, the same one Maria Sharapova beat to reach this year's semis at the All England Club -- namely the woeful Elena "No Serve" Dementiva. If one didn't know better, and one doesn't, one would think that Elena was a KGB spy placed into the tour to allow other Russians to step on her en route to titles. Dementieva, one of only two Russians in history to have played for two grand slam titles, barely put up a struggle as Sharapova, whose own game was pathetically weak, downed her in straight, miserable, boring sets.

Sharapova, if nothing else, is surely one of the luckiest people to ever walk the earth. First she is magically transported to the U.S.A. to study tennis for free, then she wins Wimbledon by getting to the finals by means of a rain delay and then playing against an injury-hobbled opponent in the finals who shortly thereafter virtually disappeared from the tour. Now again this year she faces Amelie Mauresmo, the greatest choke player in the history of the sport,, in her semi-final match after being treated to Dementieva in the quarters. Mauresmo, while ranked and seeded number one, has only one grand slam title to her credit in her long career, and the only reason she has that is that the final match was handed to her in a walkover (this didn't keep her from celebrating).