Williams sisters set for semi tie
A HOST of top names have fallen by the Wimbledon wayside but Serena and Venus Williams, with 12 titles behind them, have moved ominously into round three.
Just as second seed Caroline Wozniacki was tumbling out, joining Petra Kvitova, Maria Sharapova, Elina Svitolina and Sloane Stephens through the All England Club exit, Serena was seeing off Viktoriya Tomova.
Playing in her second grand slam since giving birth to her daughter in September, the 36-year-old was too powerful for her Bulgarian opponent.
The seven-time champion raced away with the first set and although Tomova, ranked 135 in the world, hung around slightly longer in the second, Serena completed a comprehensive 6-1 6-4 win.
“It was better than my first round so I’m happy I’m going in the right direction,” she said.
“I didn’t move a lot but I’ve been moving a lot better. How close to my best am I? I’m getting there, I don’t think I’m there yet but I expect to get there, not only at Wimbledon but other tournaments in the future.”
The American sisters could meet each other in the semi-finals as Venus was once again a little slower out of the blocks, but beat Romanian qualifier Alexandra Dulgheru 4-6 6-0 6-1.
Defending men’s champion Roger Federer put on a scintillating display as he destroyed Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko 6-4 6-4 6-1 in just 90 minutes.
He has now racked up 26 consecutive sets at Wimbledon in a run of nine successive wins spread over this year and last.