Serena keeps rolling as others fall at Wimbledon
LONDON — 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 in Friday, making a point about not having anything left to prove, “(because) I won — was it six times?”
Actually, it’s seven. And the way things are looking at the moment, that count could rise to eight in a little more than a week. Not only is she playing like her most capable self, smacking 13 aces while beating Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 7-6 (2) for a third consecutive straight-set victory, but also because the other proven contenders keep losing while she just keeps on keeping on.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Williams said. “I haven’t had any problems yet.” Serena Williams, returning a shot against Kristina Mladenovic, won in straight sets to advance to the fourth round.
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 on Friday, joining defending champion Garbine Muguruza, two-time winner Petra Kvitova and 2004 champ Maria
Sharapova as Week 1 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 Friday by Evgeniya Rodina, a qualifier ranked only 120th — were sent home. Only No. 1 Simona Halep, who plays her thirdround match Saturday, 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 eighttime 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 had never before reached the fourth round at the grass-court major — won in straight sets, and No. 11 Sam Querrey of the U.S. 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.
Twenty-threeyearAmerican Mackenzie McDonald earned a spot in the round of 16 in his tournament debut.
The 103rd-ranked American, a college star at UCLA not long ago, played in a Grand Slam tournament’s third round for the first time and won, beating Guido Pella of Argentina 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (6).
In men’s doubles, Hans Podlipnik-Castillo of Chile and Argentine partner Marcelo Arevalo prevailed over British duo Cameron Norrie and Jay Clarke in a three-day, 87-game, 5-hour, 2-minute firstround marathon.
The 6-4, 6-7 (5), 5-7, 6-4, 22-20 scoreline left the match tied for the fifth-most games in men’s doubles at Wimbledon, 15 short of the 102 played when Marcelo Melo and Andre Sa defeated Kevin Ullyett and Paul Hanley 28-26 in the fifth set of their second-round encounter in 2007.