Wimbledon: Serena battles past gutsy Mladenovic; Venus and Keys join seed exodus

London, July 7: Serena Williams had to grind it out to avoid becoming the latest high-profile casualty in the women's draw at Wimbledon, as she defeated Kristina Mladenovic 7-5 7-6 (7-2) in the third round on Friday (July 6).

The seven-time winner had watched on as world number two Caroline Wozniacki, pre-tournament favourite Petra Kvitova and defending champion Garbine Muguruza all crashed out, with only two of the top 10 seeds remaining in the draw.

But Williams, whose sister Venus was knocked out by Kiki Bertens, fought past a valiant effort from Frenchwoman Mladenovic to avoid a similar fate and keep alive her hopes of a 24th grand slam title, and first since giving birth to her child Olympia Alexis last September.

Next up is a fourth-round date with Evgeniya Rodina after the Russian upset 10th seed Madison Keys earlier on Friday.

Williams was immediately required to rescue two break points, but could not hold off Mladenovic shortly afterwards when she was left rooted to the spot by a smart forehand.

Mladenovic initially swatted off attempts at a fightback until slipping as she attempted to serve out the set, seemingly hurting her knee, and allowing Williams to seize the initiative and level.

The world number 62 struggled to regain her composure and a double fault handed Williams the opener.

Mladenovic found the net to hand her esteemed opponent another break at the start of the second, but it was quickly cancelled out when Williams double-faulted to compound a break to love.

Mladenovic continued to match her more illustrious opponent in the second set but had to rely on a crunching forehand to deny Williams on match point when serving to stay in the contest at 6-5 down.

It proved a short reprieve, though, as Williams dominated the breaker to ensure she will be around for the second week.

Venus and Keys join seed exodus

Just two of the top 10 seeds remain in contention for the women's title at Wimbledon after American duo Venus Williams and Madison Keys crashed out in the third round on Friday.

Kiki Bertens beat last year's runner-up Williams 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 8-6 in a monumental battle on Number One Court.

World number 20 Bertens had never made it into the second week at the All England Club, but battled her way past ninth seed Williams in two hours and 40 minutes.

Veteran American Williams, a five-time singles champion at SW19, broke to stay in the match and level at 5-5 in the second set before going on to win the tie-break.

Yet the 20th seed from the Netherlands came from 2-0 down in the decider to break new ground at Wimbledon, hitting 22 winners and breaking six times to pull off yet another upset.

Williams' compatriot Keys also suffered a stunning defeat, world number 120 Evgeniya Rodina defeating the 10th seed 7-5 5-7 6-4.

Keys, runner-up at the 2017 US Open and a French Open semi-finalist last month, fought back from 4-0 down in the second set, but paid the price for 48 unforced errors as qualifier Rodina pulled off a huge upset.

Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova are the only two seeds from the top 10 still in the hunt for the Venus Rosewater Dish.

Federer marches on

Top seed and defending champion Roger Federer advanced to the last 16 without dropping a set after a 6-3, 7-5 win against Germany's Jan Lennard Struff.

The Swiss legend, seeking a record ninth Wimbledon title, eased through the first set before the big-serving Struff put up more of a fight in the second. But the 36-year-old was unflinching and proceeded to win his 29th consecutive set at All England Club and wrapped up a win on Centre Court in one and a half hours.

"Against big servers who go for a lot, it's always difficult to find the rhythm and be sure that you are in driver's seat until the match is over.

"I was happy to stay calm and finish off the job. I thought I did very well today. I created more chances in the second set and was always able to stay pretty clean on my own service game.

Bopanna and partner crash out

Rohan Bopanna and his French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin crashed out of the Wimbledon Championships after they retired mid-way from their second-round contest against Frederik Nielsen Joe Salisbury.

The 14th seeds were trailing 4-6 6-7(4) 1-2 when they conceded their second-round match as Bopanna suffered an injury. They had lost at the same stage here last year as well.

The result means that only three Indians are now surviving in the men's doubles draw. Debutants Vishnu Vardhan and N Sriram Balaji and Divij Sharan with his partner Artem Sitak.

Vardhan and Balaji had ousted top-50 players Wesley Koolhof and Marcus Daniell 7-6(5) 6-4 7-6(4) in their opening round.

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN Williams [25] bt Mladenovic 7-5 7-6 (7-2)

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS Williams – 27/19 Mladenovic – 26/11

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS Williams – 13/3 Mladenovic – 3/4

BREAK POINTS WON Williams – 3/8 Mladenovic -2/6

FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE Williams - 66 Mladenovic - 60

PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE Williams – 80/35 Mladenovic – 62/54

TOTAL POINTS Williams – 85 Mladenovic - 79