Share

Sweet 16! Serena surges into Wimbledon 3rd round

London - Serena Williams powered to her 16th successive win at Wimbledon as the seven-time champion routed Bulgarian qualifier Viktoriya Tomova 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday.

Williams was in dominant mood on Centre Court, brushing aside Tomova in just 66 minutes with 24 winners and four aces to extend her streak of consecutive match wins at the All England Club.

"It was better than the first round. I'm happy I'm going in the right direction," Serena said.

"I'm getting there. I expect to get there, not only for Wimbledon but for the tournaments in the future."

The 36-year-old, whose winning run encompasses her Wimbledon titles in 2015 and 2016, missed the grass-court Grand Slam last year while she prepared to give birth to daughter Alexis Olympia in September.

But the 23-time major winner - playing just her second major as a mother - has quickly shaken off the rust in her 18th appearance at Wimbledon.

Serena, seeded 25th after her return from maternity leave, faces France's Kristina Mladenovic or Germany's Tatjana Maria for a place in the last 16.

If she wins Wimbledon, Williams would equal Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam titles.

Her last major title came at the 2017 Australian Open when she played while in the early stages of her pregnancy.

Wimbledon results on Wednesday, the third day of the 2018 championships (x denotes seeded player):

Men

Second round

Roger Federer (SUI x1) bt Lukas Lacko (SVK) 6-4, 6-4, 6-1

Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) bt Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 6-7 (5/7), 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/4), 13-11

Adrian Mannarino (FRA x22) bt Ryan Harrison (USA) 7-5, 7-5, 7-6 (7/4)

Daniil Medvedev (RUS) bt Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) 6-3, 6-4, 6-2

Sam Querrey (USA x11) bt Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-3

Gael Monfils (FRA) bt Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/3)

Mackenzie McDonald (USA) bt Nicolas Jarry (CHI) 7-6 (7/5), 5-7, 3-6, 6-2, 11-9

Dennis Novak (AUT) bt Lucas Pouille (FRA x17) 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (8/10), 3-6, 6-2

Milos Raonic (CAN x13) bt John Millman (AUS) 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/4)

Radu Albot (MDA) bt Aljaz Bedene (SLO) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 5-7, 6-3

Women

Second round

Karolina Pliskova (CZE x7) bt Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 6-3, 6-3

Mihaela Buzarnescu (ROM x29) bt Katie Swan (GBR) 6-0, 6-3

Kiki Bertens (NED x20) bt Anna Blinkova (RUS) 6-4, 6-0

Venus Williams (USA x9) bt Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-1

Julia Goerges (GER x13) bt Vera Lapko (BLR) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2

Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) bt Andrea Petkovic (GER) 6-4, 6-3

Donna Vekic (CRO) bt Rebecca Peterson (SWE) 7-5, 6-4

Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) bt Tatjana Maria (GER) 6-2, 6-2

Serena Williams (USA x25) bt Viktoriya Tomova (BUL) 6-1, 6-4

Evgeniya Rodina (RUS) bt Sorana Cirstea (ROM) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3

Madison Keys (USA x10) bt Luksika Kumkhum (THA) 6-4, 6-3

Camila Giorgi (ITA) bt Madison Brengle (USA) 6-4, 6-4

Lucie Safarova (CZE) bt Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x32) 7-5, 6-4

Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) bt Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x2) 6-4, 1-6, 7-5

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
loading... Live
Barcelona 0
Paris SG 0
loading... Live
Borussia Dortmund 0
Atletico Madrid 0
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
33% - 1804 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1767 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1067 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 450 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 184 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
4% - 248 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE