Williams: I don’t have to win this
It’s hard to blame Serena Williams for having some trouble keeping track of all of her many titles at the All England Club. “I don’t necessarily have to win another Wimbledon in my career,” she said yesterday, making a point about not having anything left to prove, “[because] I won — was it six times?”
Um, no, Serena. It’s seven. And the way things are looking, that count could rise to No 8 in a little more than a week.
Not only is she playing like, well, her most capable self, smacking 13 aces while beating Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 7-6 (2) for a third consecutive straight-sets victory, but also the other proven contenders keep losing while she just keeps winning.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Williams said. “I haven’t had any problems yet.”
She is now the only woman left in the draw who has won the trophy at the All England Club, after her older sister, five-time champion Venus, lost to No 20 Kiki Bertens 6-2, 6-7 (5), 8-6 yesterday, joining defending champion Garbine Muguruza, two-time winner Petra Kvitova and 2004 champion Maria Sharapova as week one departures.
And the number of remaining top-10 seeds is down to two after No 9 Venus and No 10 Madison Keys — beaten 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 yesterday by Evgeniya Rodina, a qualifier ranked only 120th — were sent home. Only No 1 Simona Halep and No 7 Karolina Pliskova, a 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1 winner against No 29 Mihaela Buzarnescu — are still around from the top 10.
The men have had some upsets, too, but far fewer, and eight-time champion Roger Federer continued his easy progress through the draw by running his Wimbledon streak to 29 consecutive sets.
No 8 Kevin Anderson and No 9 John Isner — the highest-ranked American man, he’d never before reached the fourth round at the grass-court major — won in straight sets, while No 11 Sam Querrey, of the US, was eliminated 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 by Gael Monfils, of France.
Isner next plays No 31 Stefanos Tsitsipas, the first Greek man into the round of 16 at a grand slam tournament in the 50-year professional era of tennis.
Serena was seeded 25th by the All England Club, a bump from her ranking of 181st owing to her time away from the game. This is only the fourth tournament of her return after giving birth last September.
Serena herself is well aware that she tends to get her opponents’ best.
“Every single match I play — whether I’m coming back from a baby or surgery, it doesn’t matter — these young ladies, they bring a game that I’ve never seen before,” she said.
“It’s a totally different game than when they play me. That’s what makes me great: I always play everyone at their greatest, so I have to be greater.”