Serena Williams defeated Annika Beck 6-3, 6-0 to reach last 16
World No 1 needs six more victories to match Martina Navratilova record
The 34-year-old will play Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova on Monday
Serena Williams was subdued, bored, not especially interested in discussing her latest act of tennis violence. Then with one muddled question she took mild offence and woke up.
She had been asked if she recognised the complex pressures on Novak Djokovic to win each game he plays, which seemed a reasonable enough question in the context of the Serbian’s sudden and unexpected fallibility.
But the phrasing snagged with Williams, when it was put to her that ‘you have been in those situations’.
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Aged 34, and entering her 177th straight week as the world No 1, Williams is evidently not willing to talk about her best days in the past tense. ‘I am in those situations - I wouldn't say I have been,’ she said after demolishing Annika Beck 6-3, 6-0. ‘Every time I step out on the court, if I don't win, it's major national news.’
This was not an obvious day for wondering if the end was nigh for Williams, such was the brutality of two sets that spanned only 51 minutes. Indeed, the second saw the defending champion drop only four points, none of which came off her own serve.
In a draw where few of the women are making great noises, with the possible exception of 19th seed Dominika Cibulkova, Williams, as ever, is looking like a reliable bet. It has been that way across almost two decades in which she has achieved ‘extreme history’, as she put it yesterday.
But how much more she can make? Inevitably, she has reached the age when it is natural to ask if she will soon lose momentum as the wrecking ball of women’s tennis. It might be wildly premature to even start on the career obituary, but her form in the three Slams since she won here last year has at least given cause to wonder if time is catching up.
Williams romped to victory after dropping serves early on and admits she'd like to 'get out to a faster start'
Having lost only four of her 25 singles finals in Slams before this year, she has lost two in a row at the Australian and French Opens. By the absurd standards of a player who has won 21 major titles, one shy of Steffi Graf’s Open-era record, that is a slump. More than that, there has been the slightest whiff of suspicion that she might have doubts in her own mind about how much further she can go.
In the short term, that will be better tested as she goes deeper into this tournament. Beck was never up to the challenge of revealing too much, despite landing a break of serve early in the match. Her serves of around 85mph were routinely smashed to all corners, ensuring she could never expect to get close to holding off the six-time champion. She looked like a little girl in the presence of the most formidable woman to play the sport.
Williams moves on to the more stern prospect of 13th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, who has beaten the American in two of their past three matches.
Williams said: ‘We have played a lot. She's won a lot. I have won a lot. We both are ready for this match, we're both going to give it our heart, as we always do when we play each other.
‘Going up against someone like Svetlana, she knows my game. And I know her game. Then it's just really down to who is really going fight to win it.’
Fighting is the one thing that can be guaranteed with Williams. It was shown by her second-round comeback to win against Christina McHale in three sets and it was shown again when she thought she was being called a ‘has been’. You certainly wouldn’t wager against her in the fight with age, either.
LADIES' GRAND SLAM WINS
Martina Navratilova - 306
Serena Williams - 300
Chris Evert - 299
Steffi Graf - 278
For Williams it was a 300th career singles win at a grand slam, moving her just six away from Martina Navratilova's all-time record.
She dropped serve early on, but soon asserted her dominance, as Beck proved powerless to prevent a heavy loss.
Williams said: 'I thought it was good. I still want to get out to a bit of a faster start, but I was really focused and calm today.
'I was here the last time they played on a Sunday, but I've actually never played. It was nice.'
Wimbledon PHOTOS: Serena races past Beck; Tsonga survives, Del Potro out
Last updated on: July 03, 2016 21:37 IST
IMAGE: Serena Williams of the United States plays a forehand during the Ladies Singles third round match against Annika Beck of Germany. Photograph: Adam Pretty/Getty Images.
World No 1 Serena Williams kept her Wimbledon title defence on track on Sunday, downing Germany's Annika Beck 6-3, 6-0 with a crushing display of power and booming serves.Williams looked in no mood to follow men's top seed Novak Djokovic out of tournament after his shock defeat on Saturday and treated the middle Sunday party crowd to an imperious 51-minute performance.
She thundered down the biggest women's serve of the grasscourt major so far at 123 mph (198 kph), followed by an ace, to seal the first set against the unseeded 22-year-old.
Williams, who suffered a scare in round two against fellow American Christina McHale, romped through the second set in 20 minutes as Beck's resistance crumbled.
The 34-year-old will play Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova in the last 16 on Monday as she continues her quest to equal Steffi Graf's record of 22 major titles.
Tsonga beats marathon man Isner in another Wimbledon epic
IMAGE: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France celebrates his third round victory over the USA's John Isner on Middle Sunday. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images
A Frenchman being involved in a long -- or rather very, very long -- fifth set epic against John Isner at Wimbledon had a feeling of deja vu about it.However, Jo Wilfried Tsonga made sure he did not end up on the losing side as his compatriot Nicolas Mahut did six years ago after he saved a match point to beat the American marathon man 6-7(3), 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 19-17.
A backhand volley finally carried Tsonga into the fourth round after four hours and 24 minutes of nerve-jangling drama, with the fifth set alone lasting two hours and eight minutes.
Isner had a match point on Tsonga's serve while leading 16-15 but the Frenchman blasted a forehand winner to stay alive and 16 minutes later, he was the one leaping into the air in celebration.
Nick Kyrgios to face Andy Murray in last 16 clash
IMAGE: Australia's Nick Kyrgios plays a backhand during his third round match against Spain's Feliciano Lopez on Middle Sunday. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Australian Nick Kyrgios turned on the style to book a Wimbledon fourth round clash with favourite Andy Murray as he outplayed Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez on People's Sunday.The unpredictable 15th seed wowed a packed Court One crowd with a dazzling exhibition of his mercurial skills, knocking off two sets in quick time for a 6-3 6-7(2) 6-3 6-4 after the match had been stopped by bad light the previous evening.
A focused Kyrgios took the third set after breaking left-hander Lopez in the eighth game and needed a single break of serve in the fourth set to complete the job.
Kyrgios was given a time violation by umpire Pascal Maria as he served on match point but he shrugged it off and pumped his fist in delight as Lopez sliced a backhand long.
The 21-year-old, a quarter-finalist two years ago when he knocked out Rafael Nadal, will now set his sights on second seed Murray in the stand-out clash of the last 16.
"My attitude was great good today, very, very happy with the way I played," Kyrgios said in a court-side interview.
"I definitely have the tools to (beat Murray) but he is probably the favourite now Djokovic is out."
Vandeweghe hails the happy atmosphere
IMAGE: Coco Vandeweghe of the United States serves during the Ladies Singles third round match against Roberta Vinci of Italy. Photograph: Adam Pretty/Getty Images.
American Coco Vandeweghe got the Wimbledon Middle Sunday party started on Centre Court, beating sixth seed Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-4 in front of an excitable crowed who scooped tickets online for the extra day's play after rain delays scrambled the first- week schedule.Even before the pair had struck a ball, Mexican waves were rippling around court and an unexpected spurt of water from the mechanism on the open roof forced a few unlucky fans to briefly raise their umbrellas on an otherwise dry day.
"It was amazing, really was quite cool. It was similar to (last year) when I played Maria (Sharapova) on quarter-final day. The crowd was really into it," the 27th seed said as she came off court.
Friends Beverley Purcell and Rebecca Rumsey had travelled from Birmingham, some 100 miles north of London, after striking lucky and bagging two of the 22,000 tickets on sale.
"It is very exciting, we had no idea who we would see," Rumsey said. "We just wanted Centre Court so we knew we would get play if it rained," Purcell added.
Vandeweghe will next play 21st seed Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who beat the Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky, seeded 11th, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the last 16.
'Exhausted' Del Potro ousted by Pouille
IMAGE: Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro plays a backhand during his third round match against France's Lucas Pouille. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Juan Martin del Potro's first Wimbledon campaign for three years ended in disappointing fashion as the Argentine crumbled to a 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 7-5, 6-1 defeat by Frenchman Lucas Pouille on Sunday.Trailing by two sets to one when bad light stopped the third-round tussle on Saturday, Del Potro looked jaded as the fourth set sped away from him.
Pouille, seeded 32nd, will face Australian Bernard Tomic in round four.
Del Potro, who has had three operations on his left wrist since his last appearance at Wimbledon in 2013 when he reached the semi-final, said the physical toll of his stunning win over fourth seed Stan Wawrinka had taken its toll.
"As you can see I'm exhausted," the 2009 US Open champion who has been robbed of large chunks of his career by injury, told reporters.
"Yesterday was even worse than today.
"My body is hurting everywhere, but that's normal after a big match against Wawrinka. I have to keep working hard, because in the future I will need to be ready between matches and feel better physically than today."
Kuznetsova overcomes coaching controversy to set up Serena showdown
IMAGE: Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova serves during her third round match against USA's Sloane Stephens on Middle Sunday. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Svetlana Kuznetsova shrugged off a code violation for on-court coaching as she produced a stirring comeback to reach the Wimbledon fourth round for the first time in eight years with a 6-7(1), 6-2, 8-6 win over American Sloane Stephens.After Stephens had taken a 2-1 lead in the deciding set, the Russian lost her temper with umpire Marijana Veljovic when the Serbian official accused Kuznetsova of receiving illegal coaching from Carlos Martinez, who was sitting in the players' box.
"I bet you all my prize money he didn't say anything," Kuznetsova yelled.
The exchange continued well into the change of ends with the 13th seed declaring: "You're not doing well."
The distraction appeared to have completely thrown Kuznetsova off stride as she allowed Stephens, seeded 18th, to take a 5-2 lead.
But just when it seemed as if the controversy would cost her dear, Kuznetsova produced the kind of form that carried her to two grand slam titles and booked a last-16 showdown with defending champion and world number one Serena Williams.
Richard Gasquet eases into last 16
Seventh seed Richard Gasquet moved stealthily into the Wimbledon fourth round for the seventh time in his career on Sunday, finishing off Spain's Albert Ramos 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-3.The French stylist required only 31 minutes to seal victory on Court 18, having moved two sets to one ahead the previous evening against the world number 36.
Gasquet, who reached the semi-finals last year as he did in 2007, could face compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last 16 if he beats American John Isner.
His win was his 28th at Wimbledon, taking him to equal fifth on the all-time list for Frenchmen, level with Rene Lacoste.
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