WIMBLEDON, England — Ignore the rankings. Ignore recent form. Remember this: You never can count a Williams out.

That's the lesson Venus Williams is providing at Wimbledon, precisely the way her younger sister Serena did at the Australian Open six months ago.

Out of the top 30, never so much as a semifinalist at any Grand Slam over the past two years, Venus Williams moved a victory away from her fourth title at the All England Club by outclassing No. 6 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, 6-2, 6-4, in yesterday's semifinals.

"Something about us — no matter what we're ranked, no matter where we are, no matter what the next person says — ultimately we just believe in ourselves," the elder Williams said, "and I think that's what makes the difference."

In her sixth Wimbledon final, the 27-year-old American will find a surprising opponent on the other side of the net today: Marion Bartoli of France, who came back from a set and a break down to stun No. 1 Justine Henin, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1.

Before this year, the lowest-ranked female finalist at the grass-court Grand Slam was Williams, who was at No. 16 when she won the 2005 championship.

This time, it's No. 31 Williams vs. No. 19 Bartoli.

Things went much closer to form in the men's quarterfinals yesterday, when the rain that's plagued the tournament finally went away and the sun was out all day. Four-time defending champion and No. 1-seeded Roger Federer meets No. 12 Richard Gasquet — who upset No. 3 Andy Roddick — and No. 2 Rafael Nadal faces No. 4 Novak Djokovic in today's semifinals.

"I have nothing to lose tomorrow," said Bartoli, who played 21 majors without ever making it past the third round until reaching the fourth at the French Open last month. "Venus has been the champion here already. I will try to figure out the way to play against her."

Bartoli mixed in all sorts of spins and angles, yanking Henin from corner to corner, forward and back — the type of frustrating stuff the Belgian normally does.

"It was like she could close her eyes and play unbelievable tennis," said Henin, who was hoping to complete a career Grand Slam. "She did everything perfectly."

RODDICK CLOSE

Two points.

That's how close Roddick was to getting another crack at Federer at Wimbledon.

Up two sets and a break against a kid making his Grand Slam quarterfinal debut, and later just-that-far from winning, the No. 3-seeded Roddick unraveled, losing 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3), 8-6 to Gasquet.

A white baseball cap tugged over his eyes, the usually gregarious Roddick discussed the defeat deliberately and in a monotone, as if he couldn't quite believe what happened.

"Well, it's another lost opportunity at Wimbledon," the American said. "I'd love to make you try to understand what it feels like in the pit of (my) stomach right now, but I don't know if I can do that. I don't know if I'm articulate enough."

He lost to four-time defending champion Federer at the All England Club in the 2003 semifinals and the next two finals. Another showdown loomed because they were in the same half of the draw, and Federer beat 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, in an earlier quarterfinal yesterday.

Might Roddick have been thinking ahead, even a tad, once he built his big lead against Gasquet?

"No," was Roddick's reply.

So instead of having the four top-seeded men in the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time since 1995, Gasquet will be the interloper facing No. 1 Federer today, while No. 2 Nadal meets No. 4 Djokovic.

Not only does the top-ranked Federer take a 52-match winning streak on grass into his semifinal, but he also had the advantage of having played a little more than 1 1/2 hours yesterday in his rain-suspended match against Ferrero and walking off court before 3:30 p.m. Gasquet's struggle against Roddick, in contrast, lasted more than 3 1/2 hours.

"I am tired," said Gasquet, who hit more aces than Roddick, 23-22, and far more winners, 93-60. "I played a lot of time, with a lot of pressure."