NOTEBOOK | From Wimbledon

Rivaling the Williams sisters: Who would win if Martina Navratilova played Wimbledon champion Serena Williams or sister Venus? Navratilova thinks that at her peak she likes her chances of beating either one. She also picked seven-time winner Steffi Graf as another who might have beaten the sisters. "On a given day, Serena could have overpowered me as she could anyone, but that's at her best," Navratilova said. "I think my average against her average would be better because I miss less." Navratilova, 46, plays today in the mixed doubles semifinals with Leander Paes. If she advances to the final she will be aiming for her 20th Wimbledon title to tie the record held by Billie Jean King. King has six singles titles, 10 in doubles and four in mixed. Navratilova has nine singles titles, seven in doubles and three in mixed. Navratilova ranks second in career titles at all the Grand Slam events with 57: 18 in singles, 31 in doubles and eight in mixed doubles. The women's record is 62, held by Margaret Smith Court (24 singles, 19 doubles, 19 mixed).
Treating Venus: Karen Davis, the WTA trainer who treated Venus Williams' abdominal injury during her Wimbledon final and semifinal, called Williams "a tough competitor" for playing Saturday's final. "With that type of injury, and what's required of those muscles during a service motion, I think she was very courageous to go out there and play," Davis said. "Each time she reaches and extends she was going to feel anything from sharp pain to an increase in a dull ache. Sometimes a little bit of both." Davis said Williams would need to rest two-to-four weeks. Williams warmed up for only 10 minutes before the match, leading to speculation she might pull out of the final. "No, she was ready to play," Davis said. "She felt she could compete. She practiced enough to test it but not to stress it. She did not want to go out there if she could not compete." Davis said Williams had a wrap around her midsection to treat the strain on her left side. She said the wrap was tightened and adjusted during the medical timeout during the final. Williams also played with a wrap on her upper left leg to treat a groin strain picked up in the semifinal.
Tale of the tape: Roger Federer is 2-1 in matches against Mark Philippoussis. But they have never played on grass, and the Australian won on clay in their last match this year. Federer is a slight favorite on the strength of a better all-court game and his ability of return serve. Philippoussis may have to match the 46 aces he had -- tying a Wimbledon record with Goran Ivanisevic -- in beating Andre Agassi in the quarterfinals. Federer and Philippoussis probably will play each other again in the Davis Cup in two months. Federer has yet to lose a match in the month-long grass-court season. "If I could finish off the grass-court season by not losing a match, that would be just fantastic," he said Saturday. Philippoussis played his only other Grand Slam final in 1998 in the U.S. Open, losing to countryman Pat Rafter. Federer is playing in his first Grand Slam final. "I'm definitely a lot more prepared this time," he said. "Playing against Pat. That was tough for me."
Triple doubles: Today looms as a busy day for Todd Woodbridge. The Australian and Russian partner Sventlana Kuznetsova could play three rounds of mixed doubles in a backed-up schedule. Because Woodbridge was busy Saturday winning men's doubles with Jonas Bjorkman, he didn't have time to start his mixed quarterfinal. So today, he and Kuznetsova play their quarterfinal against Leos Friedl and Liezel Huber. If they win, next up will be a semifinal against Leander Paes and Martina Navratilova. The final is set for late today against Andy Ram of Israel and Russia's Anastassia Rodionova.
Royal box: William Farish, the U.S. ambassador to Britain, was in the Royal Box on Saturday with his wife, Sarah. Alongside was Don McKinnon, the Commonwealth secretary general. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was also there with his wife, Fiona. "Aliens" director Ridley Scott was in their company. Three former Wimbledon women's champions were also watching from the Royal Box: Brazilian Maria Bueno and British winners Angela Mortimer (now Angela Barrett) and Virginia Wade.
Chair umpire: Englishman Gerry Armstrong will be the chair umpire for today's men's final. This is Armstrong's third men's singles final. He was in the chair in 1987 and 1997. He also umpired two men's doubles finals, two women's singles finals and a women's doubles final.