WIMBLEDON, England – Allow us to reflect for a moment on what might have been at Wimbledon yesterday.

On Centre Court, Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva, two svelte Russian blondes with booming strokes, kicked off the afternoon, followed by Kim Clijsters of Belgium and Li Na of China, two women with sprinter’s thighs and explosive speed. On Court 1, the most versatile woman in the world, Justine Henin-Hardenne, took on Severine Bremond, a French qualifier whose stylish all-court game had propelled her to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Rounding out the final eight were top seed Amelie Mauresmo and Anastasia Myskina, a bundle of nerves versus a baseliner who tends to berate herself.

Yet despite the intriguing pairings, the women’s quarterfinals at the All England Club delivered little in the way of compelling tennis on another hot afternoon in southwest London, where temperatures approached 90 degrees. Sharapova routed Dementieva excepting a late surge, Mauresmo too often decided to indulge Myskina in tentative, loopy rallies, and Clijsters and Li traded highs and lows, with more lows from Li determining the outcome.

After 120 matches at Wimbledon, the top four seeds remain. Mauresmo, Clijsters, and Henin-Hardenne have won the last three Grand Slam titles, while Sharapova won her only major title here in 2004. Only Henin-Hardenne, the favorite as Wimbledon nears its conclusion, and Bremond put on a display worth witnessing.

The 24-year-old Belgian has played superb tennis in an attempt to win her first title here, and the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back for the first time since Serena Williams in 2002. Yesterday, she came down a bit from her recently exceptional level, though there were flashes of excellence.She moved to the net on about a quarter of the points, sprinkling in nine serve-and-volley attacks and winning them all. Her forehand produced several fine winners, as did her backhand down the line. Her most serious struggle came while serving (she double faulted six times).

Bremond, who will turn 27 this summer, hopes to become one of those rare players who blossoms late in her career (rarer still among the women). She turned professional at 18, and promised her parents she would commit herself to tennis only after finishing a year studying law. On court yesterday, she hardly looked out of place, pushing Henin-Hardenne to 6-4,6-4, by far the most difficult match the no. 3 seed has played thus far. The result was more impressive considering Bremond, her left leg wrapped tightly, had incorrectly expected a day of rest between the fourth round and quarterfinals (she defeated Nicole Vaidisova on Monday).

Bremond said she took after Boris Becker and Pete Sampras,though she often prefers to approach the net from the baseline rather than off her strong serve. Considering her idols, it was no surprise that she produced her best tournament on the lawns of Wimbledon.She said her performance here has made her believe she can play first-rate tennis on the game’s premier stages.

“Before I didn’t know,” she said.

Henin-Hardenne knows she can win this tournament, though she would not announce it yesterday. She also knows a thing or two about her next opponent, fellow Belgian Clijsters. The two have played 21 times, with Henin-Hardenne leading 11-10. On the most important occasions, however, Henin-Hardenne has dominated. She has won their last four Grand Slam meetings and two contests this year, including a victory at a grass-court warm-up tournament prior to Wimbledon. At the French Open last month, Henin-Hardenne dropped just five games to a listless Clijsters.

After her 6-2, 7-5 victory over Li yesterday, it’s hard to know whether Clijsters is prepared to change the trend. She delivered a solid performance, committing only 13 errors, though 10 came in a shaky second set. Li, the first Chinese quarterfinalist at a Grand Slam event, dictated play for most of the match, walloping backhands and forcing Clijsters to retreat behind the baseline. But Li often missed when it counted, hitting two backhands long after reaching set point in the second set (she served at 5-3) and three more after earning a break point when Clijsters served for the match.

Clijsters, who won last year’s U.S. Open, said making friends on the tour rates higher with her than winning tournaments.

“Trophies, they don’t talk to you when you retire,” she said.

Still, there is something to gain by beating Henin-Hardenne: a reputation for defeating top players at their best in crucial matches. At the moment, that’s something Clijsters lacks.

In the other semifinal tomorrow, Sharapova will attempt to beat Mauresmo for the first time in her career.

Mauresmo yesterday defeated Myskina 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in a match that lacked rhythm. At times, the Frenchwoman treated onlookers to brilliant flashes, serving and volleying and attacking the steady and monotonous Myskina. But at other moments she seemed unsure what to do with her backboard of an opponent. Even on match point at 5-2 she played indecisively, allowing a weak shot from Myskina to drop too low before she attempted a half-hearted swinging forehand volley (it landed in the net). She finished with 32 unforced errors.

The 19-year-old Sharapova had a much easier time with Dementieva, the muscular Russian with formidable strokes and a feathery second serve. Dementieva played haplessly for much of the match, losing 10 of the first 11 games. Sharapova served well, varying speeds and relying on her slice, and she bludgeoned Dementieva’s second offerings, winning 60% of those points. Dementieva made her countrywoman look awkward at times, especially at the net, as she climbed back into the second set, but she had too little to offer against a woman who played far better this round than last.

The most colorful moment of the match had nothing to do with tennis. As Sharapova prepared to serve at 3-0 in the second set, a man charged onto the court naked and performed a cartwheel and a dance (Sharapova turned away, while Dementieva could not suppress a smile). The security guards took a few moments to drape him in a red blanket and escort him off court, while the crowd cheered the spectacle.

“You guys wanted some entertainment during a women’s match, you got some,” Sharapova said.

Entertaining, yes, but not in quite in the way we hoped. Better luck in the semifinals.