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Serena speeds past Scheepers

London - Serena Williams has handed South Africa's Chanelle Scheepers a Wimbledon masterclass as the five-time champion raced into the third round with a 6-1, 6-1 victory on Thursday.

Top seed Williams needed only an hour to dismiss Anna Tatishvili in the first round and the world number one was even more ruthless against Scheepers, crushing her in 49 minutes to set up a last 32 meeting with French 25th seed Alize Cornet.

The 32-year-old had seethed over her shock first round exit against Garbine Muguruza at the French Open last month and appears intention on taking out those frustrations on her Wimbledon opponents.

Serena, a 17-time Grand Slam champion, overwhelmed Scheepers with 26 winners, compared to five from the world number 94, and eight aces.

Williams admitted being expected to rout lower ranked opponents like Scheepers can sometimes be a burden, but she is thriving despite the pressure of her status as tournament favourite.

"It's been like that for the past two or three years. I am always the favourite and that can be a bit of pressure, but it's ok. I have learnt to deal with it," Serena said.

Williams also revealed she was relieved to have avoided any more embarrassing tumbles on the slick grasscourt after falling into the crowd during her doubles match with sister Venus on Wednesday night.

"I was out really late in a fun doubles match last night with Venus," she added.

"Some wonderful gents caught me as I fell into the crowd, It was so embarrassing, I just had to laugh."

Scheepers had finally made it to the second round at Wimbledon for the first time after four consecutive opening round defeats.

But, faced with the daunting task of trying to tame Serena, the 30-year-old could have been forgiven for wondering if it had been worth the effort.

The American was in full flight right from the start and clinched an embarrassingly one-sided set in only 25 minutes.

The Court One onslaught continued in the second set as Serena showed no mercy to the shell-shocked Scheepers, adding two more breaks to complete a ruthless destruction.

Wimbledon results on Thursday, the fourth day of the 2014 championships at the All England Club (x denotes seeded player):

Men

Second round
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x14) bt Sam Querrey (USA) 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 14-12
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI x5) bt Lu Yen-Hsun (TPE) 7-6 (8/6), 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
Denis Istomin (UZB) bt Julian Reister (GER) 7-6 (9/7), 6-4, 6-4
Tommy Robredo (ESP x23) bt Adrian Mannarino (FRA) 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (7/5)
Roger Federer (SUI x4) bt Gilles Muller (LUX) 6-3, 7-5, 6-3
Milos Raonic (CAN x8) bt Jack Sock (USA) 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Lukasz Kubot (POL) bt Dusan Lajovic (SRB) 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 7-6 (7/3)
Simone Bolelli (ITA) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER x22) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
Kei Nishikori (JPN x10) bt Denis Kudla (USA) 6-3, 6-2, 6-1
Nick Kyrgios (AUS) bt Richard Gasquet (FRA x13) 3-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-5, 10-8
Jir Vesel (CZE) bt Gael Monfils (FRA x24) 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 6-7 (1/7), 6-7 (3/7), 6-4
Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) bt Frank Dancevic (CAN) 6-3, 6-3, 6-2
Rafael Nadal (ESP x2) bt Luks Rosol (CZE) 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4, 6-4

Women

Second round
Serena Williams (USA x1) bt Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) 6-1, 6-1
Alize Cornet (FRA x25) bt Petra Cetkovsk (CZE) 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
Andrea Petkovic (GER x20) bt Irina Begu (ROM) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Eugnie Bouchard (CAN) bt Silvia Soler (ESP) 7-5, 6-1
Angelique Kerber (GER x9) bt Heather Watson (GBR) 6-2, 5-7, 6-1
Kirsten Flipkens (BEL x24) bt Lourdes Domnguez (ESP) 6-2, 6-1
Alison Riske (USA) bt Camila Giorgi (ITA) 7-5, 6-2
Maria Sharapova (RUS x5) bt Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) 6-2, 6-1
Vera Zvonareva (RUS) bt Donna Vekic (CRO) 6-4, 6-4
Zarina Diyas (KAZ) bt Carla Surez (ESP x15) 7-6 (14/12), 5-7, 6-2
Ana Ivanovic (SRB x11) bt Zheng Jie (CHN) 6-4, 6-0
Sabine Lisicki (GER x19) bt Karolna Plskov (CZE) 6-3, 7-5
Madison Keys (USA) bt Klara Koukalova (CZE x31) 7-5, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) bt Kaia Kanepi (EST) 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2

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