Daily Times

LONDON: Serena Williams underlined her status as the Wimbledon title favourite with a 62-minute demolition of Russian qualifier Evgeniya Rodina, while Karolina Pliskova became the last top 10 seed to crash out on Monday. Williams raced into her 13th Wimbledon quarter-final as the seven-time champion thrashed Rodina 6-2, 6-2 in a Centre Court masterclass. Williams, who won the Wimbledon title on her last two visits in 2015 and 2016, is now on an 18-match winning streak at the All England Club. Having missed Wimbledon last year while she prepared to have her first child in September, Serena is in pole position to win her first Grand Slam crown since becoming a mother.

On Tuesday (today), the 36-year-old faces Italian world number 52 Camila Giorgi, who beat Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 6-4 to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final. Garbine Muguruza, Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki and Sloane Stephens have all been eliminated already. Kiki Bertens took care of the last of the top 10 with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/1) victory over Czech seventh seed Pliskova. It is the first time in Wimbledon history not one of the top 10 women´s seeds have reached the quarter-finals. Bertens, who was contemplating retirement last year after losing her enthusiasm for the sport, is the first Dutch woman to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals since Michaella Krajicek in 2007. The 26-year-old faces German 13th seed Julia Goerges, who beat Croatian world number 55 Donna Vekic 6-3, 6-2 to seal her first Grand Slam quarter-final berth at the 42nd attempt.

Elsewhere in fourth round action, Dominika Cibulkova launched a scathing attack on Wimbledon’s officials after a line call controversy marred her 6-4, 6-1 win against Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-Wei. In her third Wimbledon quarter-final, Cibulkova faces former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. Latvian 12th seed Ostapenko enjoyed a 7-6 (7/4), 6-0 win against Belarusian world number 50 Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

Former Wimbledon finalist Angelique Kerber stepped up her bid to return to the title match with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) win against Switzerland´s Belinda Bencic. Beaten by Serena in the 2016 final, Kerber takes on Russian 14th seed Daria Kasatkina, a 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 6-2 winner against Belgian world number 47 Alison Van Uytvanck.

Published in Daily Times, July 10^th 2018.