Venus Williams through to Wimbledon semis – along with sister Serena

Venus Williams has progressed to the semi-finals at Wimbledon for the first time in seven years, after a dominant 7-6, 6-2 victory over Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan.

"What's transpiring now for Venus at Wimbledon is historic," says CNN. By beating her "explosive, but inconsistent" opponent, the 36-year-old player has become the oldest semi-finalist at a grand slam since Martina Navratilova, then 37, played at the All England Club in 1994.

William's sister, defending champion Serena, has also progressed to the next stage, confidently beating Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-4.

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The wins set up the possibility of an all-Williams women's final if Serena defeats Elena Vesnina on Thursday and her elder sister, a five-time Wimbledon champion, triumphs over Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber.

Following their singles wins, the sisters returned to the court to beat Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-4 and move into the next round of the women's doubles.

"It has been a bumpy five years for Venus Williams since she was diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease causing chronic fatigue and muscle soreness," reports the LA Times. "Part of her treatment involved adopting a vegan raw food diet to help reduce inflammation and the energy-draining symptoms of the ailment."

Nevertheless, she has refused to walk away from her tennis career. "Retiring is the easy way out," she has said. "I don't have time for easy."