Serena survives the heat as giantkillers rule roost
WIMBLEDON Seventime champion gets past Mladenovic in two tough sets
LONDON: Seven-times champion Serena Williams moved ominously into the last 16 at Wimbledon when she recovered from a sluggish start to beat France’s Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 7-6(1) on Friday.
The American looked sluggish initially and trailed 5-3 but the 36-year-old flicked the switch and reeled off six games in a row as Mladenovic wilted in the heat.
To her credit Mladenovic recovered her poise and had a chance to break Serena’s serve at 4-4 in the second set. Serena slammed the door shut though and piled on the pressure when Mladenovic served at 5-6.
Mladenovic saved one match point with a forehand winner and forced a tiebreak but there was no stopping Williams as she steamed through it.
She brought up another match point with a 12th ace and finished it off with her 13th. Serena has now won 17 consecutive matches at Wimbledon including the 2015 and 2016 titles.
BATTLE OF MUMS
Serena, seeded 25 and chasing a 24th Grand Slam title, will face Russian qualifier Evgeniya Rodina for a place in the quarter-finals. The match on Monday will also be a tussle between two of the tour’s mothers.
Serena gave birth to daughter Alexis Olympia in September, while Rodina became a mother to Anna in November 2012.
VENUS, KEYS AND MUGURUZA CRASH OUT
Venus Williams suffered a stunning Wimbledon exit as the fivetime champion became the latest star to crash out in a 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 8-6 defeat against Kiki Bertens.
After reaching the final last year and the semi-finals in 2016, Venus was expected to mount another strong challenge for the Wimbledon title.
But instead the 38-year-old was worn down by Dutch 20th seed Bertens in a dramatic third round clash lasting two hours and 40 minutes in sweltering heat on Court One.
Venus, seeded ninth, joined Keys as high-profile casualties on Friday. Tenth seed Keys, who had made at least the quarter-finals of her last three majors, lost in the third round 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 to Russian qualifier Evgeniya Rodina, ranked 120th in the world.
Defending champion Garbine Muguruza was sensationally knocked out by journeywoman Alison van Uytvanck on Thursday, leaving just one of the top six seeds in the fray after only two rounds. Belgian 47th-ranked Van Uytvanck won 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.
In men’s draw, fourth seed Alexander Zverev made the third round, seeing off Taylor Fritz of the United States 6-4 5-7 6-7 (0/7) 6-1 6-2. He faces Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis for a spot in the last 16.
Kevin Anderson, seeded eight, swept past Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 7-5, 7-5. Gael Monfils tamed the power of American Sam Querrey 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
BOPANNA KNOCKED OUT
Rohan Bopanna and French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin crashed out after retiring midway through their second round contest against Frederik Nielsen and Joe Salisbury. The 14th seeds were trailing 4-6, 6-7(4), 1-2 when they conceded the match as Bopanna suffered an injury.
Debutants Vishnu Vardhan and N Sriram Balaji battled past Wesley Koolhof of Netherlands and Marcus Daniell of Netherlands 7-6(5), 6-4, 7-6(4) in the opening round.