Djokovic leads charge of the seeds
Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams cruised effortlessly into the Wimbledon fourth round on Saturday as the first week’s shockwaves left just eight of the top 20 seeds still standing.
World no. 1 Djokovic, the 2011 champion, destroyed French 28th seed Jeremy Chardy, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in just 86 minutes.
He fired 38 winners, eight aces and committed just three unforced errors.
“I felt very confident to step onto the court and everything went my way,” said Djokovic after his 50th career grasscourt win.
“I haven’t lost many points on my service games. I did everything I wanted to do. I enjoy it very much when everything works well. It’s a fantastic feeling.”
Djokovic, yet to drop his serve, will tackle veteran Tommy Haas for a place in the quarter-finals, just weeks after he beat the German in the French Open quarter-finals.
But 13th-seeded Haas beat the Serb star in Miami this season and also got the better of him in the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2009.
Women’s defending champion Serena Williams was equally ruthless taking just over an hour to carve out a 6-2, 6-0 win over Japanese 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm.
It was the 600th win of Williams’ career as the American continued her gentle cruise towards a sixth Wimbledon title and 17th Grand Slam crown. She will face German 23rd seed Sabine Lisicki for a quarter-final place where victory will also give her a 35th successive win, taking her level with sister Venus’s record set in 2000.
“Wow, 600 wins. I had no idea. What better place than under the roof at Centre Court to achieve it,” said the 31-year-old American. Only four of the top 10 men’s seeds and four of the top 10 in the women’s draw have made it to the second week after the Grand Slam heavyweights of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka had all exited by Wednesday.
The men’s fourth round will feature five men making their maiden appearance at the fourth round stage.
In the women’s draw, Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, the runner-up to Williams last year, defeated Madison Keys of the United States, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. She will face 2010 semi-finalist, Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria who defeated Petra Martic of Croatia, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.
Chinese sixth seed Li Na survived a roller-coaster of a battle to edge Czech veteran Klara Zakopalova, 4-6, 6-0, 8-6. Next up for Li is Italian 11th seed Roberta Vinci who saw off Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova, 6-1, 6-4.
Eighth seed Petra Kvitova is the highest ranked player in her half after the exits of Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka.
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