Russians tasked with solving Williams riddle

By Kylie MacLellan

LONDON (Reuters) - Russia's Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina have been tasked with solving the riddle that has so far proved way beyond the abilities of anyone else in the women's draw at Wimbledon this year.

How do you stop the Williams sisters?

As Venus and Serena inexorably cruise towards a fourth all-Williams final, world number one Safina and Dementieva are hoping to break their formidable stride and secure the first all-Russian clash instead.

And the Russians meant business as they took to the All England Club's practice courts on Wednesday to prepare for combat.

Hidden away on one of the back courts, Safina -- who faces a first Wimbledon semi-final against Venus -- may have been out of sight of her fans, but she was not out of earshot as she noisily powered shots back at her coach from the baseline.

Wearing a bright blue top and black hot pants, the top seed spent over an hour working on her game in the midday heat before doing some fitness training, side-stepping along the tram lines as she threw a basketball back and forth with her coach.

Despite being the world number one, the Russian is expected to be a mere stepping stone towards another final for third seed Venus, who is chasing a sixth Wimbledon title and has not dropped a set here since the 2007 third round.

But the 23-year-old won't go down without a fight.