1. JO HAS A GO
DANE Caroline
Wozniacki is worried she
may not have the power to keep
pace with her opponents.
The third seed squeezed past Rus-
sia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-4
to match her previous best performance of
a fourth-round showing at Wimbledon.
But she confessed to being threatened
by the power of big hitters such as the
Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova.
She said: “The women’s tour is tough.
My opponent was difficult to contain
and, if I want to compete, I have
to get stronger to match some
of the harder hitters.”
FERR TEST
S
OME will see it as
a battle between
Beauty and the
Beast — and Maria
Sharapova insists she
has nothing to fear.
But when she steps on
court against Serena
Williams, the leggy
Russian will be up against
a champion in a mood for
destruction.
The defending Wimbledon
champion has savaged all of
her opponents in her
relentless march towards the
second week — and a victory
over Sharapova will have
added appeal.
Defeat in the 2004 final to
the rookie teenager has
always rankled with the
American —
and she has
taken her re-
venge in four
out of their
five meetings
since.
But when
they face
each other on
the Centre
Court tomor-
row, this will
be payback
time. Wil-
liams will
want to grind
her opponent
into the
well-worn
grass surface.
Sharapova
m a d e i t
through a test-
ing third-
round clash against Czech
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova
7-5, 6-3 in a match that
lasted just under two hours.
Compare that with
Williams’ runaway victory
against Dominika Cibulkova
in 68 minutes and you have a
measure of the gulf between
the two women.
The No 1 seed’s frightening
power and unquenchable
desire to keep chalking up
Grand Slam titles gives her
an advantage that is immeas-
urable in terms of their phy-
sique and tennis ability.
Sharapova admits she is
still short of her best form
after a lay-off following
shoulder surgery — but she is
prepared to stand in front of
the rampaging Williams
without flinching.
Or at least she talked a
brave game after yesterday’s
victory.
The Russian said: “This
meeting has not come too
soon for me. Absolutely not.
“I love playing against
Serena. She is the defending
champion. She is great on
this surface. She has won
numerous Grand Slams.
“If there’s a challenge
ahead of you, it’s definitely
playing against her, and I
enjoy that.
“The 2004 final was our
last meeting on grass. It’s
tough for me
to take any-
thing away
from that
match as it
was many
years ago.
This will be a
new day.
“Tennis is
obviously not
just about
power. On
grass, it’s a
big key to the
game — but I
don’t think
that it is
everything in
tennis.
“You know
Serena is a
really big hit-
ter. She is a
big server.
You’ve got to really take your
chances when you have them.
“I’d call it a rivalry with
Serena when I win a few
more against her. But I
absolutely enjoy it.
“I love going on the court
and playing someone who is
favourite to win the match.”
Brave words that need to
be matched by brave deeds.
Sharapova will have to
raise her game several
notches from her perform-
ance against Zahlavova Stry-
cova yesterday when her serv-
ing was erratic and her
ground strokes often way-
ward.
It was the sort of display
that will serve only to whet
the appetite of Williams.
SHAZZA WILL
SLUG IT OUT
SWEDISH dangerman
Robin Soderling moved
menacingly into the last 16 with a
brutal destruction of Brazil’s Thomaz
Bellucci.
Soderling, the beaten finallist at the
French Open final for the second
successive year, swept aside his
24th-ranked rival 6-4, 6-2, 7-5.
The Swede has yet to drop a set at this
Wimbledon and is the big threat in Andy
Murray’s half of the draw. He now
faces No 9 seed David Ferrer, who
dumped French ace Jeremy
Chardy 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6,
7-5.
NINTH-SEED David Ferrer beat Jeremy
Chardy of France 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 7-5
and is braced for a tough day against
Swedish world No 6 Robin Soderling.
The Spaniard said: “It will be a very
difficult match against Soderling.
“He serves well and plays fast. I will
have to focus all the time.”
ByDAVIDHARRISON
MARATHON man Nicolas Mahut can put his
feet up after five days of frantic action.
The Frenchman and his partner Arnaud
Clement were beaten by British pair Colin
Fleming and Ken Skupski 5-7, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7
(4-7) in a clash lasting over three hours.
That meant Mahut, on court 11 hours in
losing the longest match in history, lost in
the first round of singles and doubles.
Nic sick
AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA had to dig deep
to find her way past Sara Errani.
Italian Errani failed to convert five break
points in the first set as the Pole won 6-3,
6-1 to set up a meeting with China’s Li Na.
Number 14 seed Victoria Azarenka
crashed 7-5, 6-0 to unseeded Czech Petra
Kvitova after losing nine straight games. The
Belarussian had set point at 5-4 but blew it.
WIMBLEDON2010:ALLTHE
n NO PAIN, NO GAIN — the strain shows as Sharapova beats Zahlavova Strycova
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA powered his
way into the last 16 with a straight sets
win over German qualifier Tobias Kamke.
The 10th-seeded Frenchman pounded
down 19 aces to triumph 6-1, 6-4, 7-6
(7-1) against the lowest-ranked player to
reach the third round.
Tsonga, into the second week for the
first time since 2007, takes on fellow
Frenchman Julien Benneteau tomorrow.
Glad Rad
Maria set for
Williams war
COURT 1
5 3
7 6
WOMEN’S
3RD ROUND
MARIA
SHARAPOVA (RUS)
B ZAHLAVOVA
STRYCOVA (CZE)
1ST SERVE %
ACES
DOUBLE FAULTS
UNFORCED ERRORS
WINNERS
BREAK POINTS TAKEN %
NET POINTS WON
TOTAL POINTS WON
FASTEST SERVE SPEED (MPH)
TIME OF MATCH: 1HR 54MINS
58
0
4
26
11
38
10
68
105
67
3
6
35
34
33
23
84
114
M
SHARAPOVAB ZAHLAVOVA
STRYCOVA V
78 NEWS OF THE WORLD, June 27, 2010 1U
By GREG GOBERE
T
HE full force of Serena
Williams’ power game
was just too hot for poor
Dominika Cibulkova.
Williams had never met her
Slovakian foe in competition
before yesterday.
But it was business as usual on
Centre Court, as she wrapped up
their third-round match 6-0, 7-5 in
just 68 power-packed minutes.
The American towered six inches
above Cibulkova, so there was no
doubt that coping with Williams’ im-
mense power was going to be the
biggest hurdle for her opponent.
And though she came through
without dropping a set in the match,
Williams was disappointed that the
second was not as one-sided as the
first.
Poured
She stormed to the first set, with
the usual grunts from one of the
loudest women on the tour kept to a
minimum.
Yet as the following set played
out, Cibulkova stepped up a gear
and Williams had to crank up the
octaves to stay on track.
She said: “I think I slid a little bit.
It’s important for me to stay level
and stay with my game. But I wasn't
able to do that.
“I’ve always been insatiable. I’ve
always had a desire to be really
good. If you become too satisfied, I
don’t know how you can reach that.
“I thought I was playing a little
better last year, so, hopefully, I can
pick it up. I’m going to have to,
obviously, in the next match or the
next couple.”
Gunning for a ninth fourth-round
appearance at Wimbledon, Williams
strutted on court in her strawberries
and cream-inspired dress.
But that was the only thing dainty
about her as she gave a brutal dis-
play early on. She blitzed the first
set in just 18 minutes, leaving the
vast array of sports stars watching
from the Royal Box wondering
whether they had drawn the short
straw by visiting Centre Court on
the day.
Cibulkova was
hoping to become
only the third Slo-
vak woman to reach
the round of 16
until the world No 1
gave her a taste of
things to come with
her 25th ace of the
tournament from
the very first serve.
The defending
champion then
promptly broke her
rival to go 2-0 up.
Williams’ oppo-
nents will do well to
contend with her
serve on this
showing and the
aces poured down
on the Slovak
heavier than the
rain usually does most years at
SW19.
It was one part of her game with
which Williams was certainly
overjoyed.
She added: “Serving that well feels
awesome. I serve well at Wimbledon
for some unknown
reason. I want to
keep doing it. I wish
I could serve like this
every tournament.
“For the most part,
my serve only works
well when I’m in
trouble.
“At Wimbledon it
works the whole
time. But I went
home and really
worked hard on my
serve after the
French Open.”
When Cibulkova
was not looking to
the heavens in
dismay at the
escalating ace count,
she was shrugging
her shoulders at the
number of backhand
winners coming whistling across the
net.
Williams quickly raced to a third
successive 6-0 opening set, having
dished out identical treatment to
both Larcher de Brito and Anna
Chakvetadze in previous rounds.
It is a phenomenon that is not lost
on the American.
She declared: “Gosh, it’s pretty
cool. But it’s almost better not to
win 6-0, because then the crowd re-
ally gets behind the opponent. You
can't blame them.
“I was talking to Billie Jean King
in the locker room.
“She told me that when you win
6-0 over your opponent, you have to
expect them to really come out
loose, like they have absolutely noth-
ing to lose, and just start going for
shots.
Studies
“That was really good advice. So
if that happens again, I’ll be ready.”
The Slovakian did begin to let her
shots go and made a much better
fist of the second set.
But Williams’ smart return of
serve was enough to set up a
sizzling clash with Russia’s Maria
Sharapova on Monday.
Williams admitted: “I think Maria
really knows my game. I think she
really studies it. I pretty much know
her game, too. So I don’t think much
has changed.”
Seeds in caps, British in bold
MEN’S SINGLES
HOLDER: R Federer (Switz)
3rd Rnd: (6) R SODERLING (Swe) bt (25) T BEL-
LUCCI (Br) 6-4 6-2 7-5; (9) D FERRER (Sp) bt J
Chardy (Fra) 7-5 6-3 4-6 3-6 7-5; P-H Mathieu (Fr) bt
T De Bakker (Hol) 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (8-10) 6-4;
(32) J BENNETEAU (Fr) bt F Fognini (It) 6-4 6-1 4-6
6-3; (10) J-W TSONGA (Fr) bt T Kamke (Ger) 6-1 6-4
7-6 (7-1); (2) R NADAL (Sp) bt (33) P PETZSCHNER
(Ger) 6-4 4-6 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-3.
WOMEN’S SINGLES
HOLDER: S Williams (US)
3rd Rnd: (7) A RADWANSKA (Poland) bt (32) S ER-
RANI (Itly) 6-3 6-1; P Kvitova (Cze) bt (14) V AZA-
RENKA (Belarus) 7-5 6-0; (1) S WILLIAMS (US) bt D
Cibulkova (Svk) 6-0 7-5; (9) N LI (Chn) bt A Rodi-
onova (Rus) 6-1 6-3; (3) C WOZNIACKI (Den) bt (29)
A PAVLYUCHENKOVA (Rus) 7-5 6-4; K Zakopalova
(Cze) bt (10) F PENNETTA (It) 6-2 6-3; (16) M
SHARAPOVA (Rus) bt B Zahlavova-Strycova (Cze)
7-5 6-3; K Kanepi (Est) bt (31) A DULGHERU (Rom)
6-1 6-2.
MEN’S DOUBLES
HOLDERS: D Nestor (Can) & N Zimonjic (Ser)
1st Rnd: C Fleming & K Skupski bt A Clement (Fr) &
N Mahut (Fra 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-4).
2nd Rnd: C Ball (Aus) & C Guccione (Aus) bt (15) M
MELO (Br) & B SOARES (Br) 6-2 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 7-6
(8-6); C Eaton & D Inglot bt (1) D NESTOR (Can) & N
ZIMONJIC (Ser) 7-5 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (3-7) 8-6; Y-H
Lu (Tpe) & J Tipsarevic (Ser) bt (6) M FRYSTENBERG
(Pol) & M MATKOWSKI (Pol) 3-6 6-3 4-6 7-5 12-10.
WOMEN’S DOUBLES
HOLDERS: S Williams (US) & V Williams (US)
2nd Rnd: (3) N PETROVA (Rus) & S STOSUR (Aus) bt
S Kuznetsova (Rus) & A Rezai (Fra) 6-0 6-4; V King
(US) & Y Shvedova (Kaz) bt (14) M NICULESCU
(Rom) & S PEER (Isr) 6-0 3-6 6-2; E Vesnina (Rus) &
V Zvonareva (Rus) bt (17) C-J CHUANG (Tpe) & O
GOVORTSOVA (Blr) 6-4 5-7 7-5; J Jankovic (Ser) & C
Scheepers (SA) bt (13) V DUSHEVINA (Rus) & E
MAKAROVA (Rus) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.
3rd Rnd:(6) K PESCHKE (Cze) & K SREBOTNIK (Slo)
bt S Errani (It) & Roberta Vinci (It) 7-5 6-3; (1) S WIL-
LIAMS (US) & V WILLIAMS (US) bt D Cibulkova (Svk)
& A Pavlyuchenkova (Rus) 6-1 6-2.
MIXED DOUBLES
HOLDERS: M Knowles (Bah) & A-L Groenefeld (Ger)
1st Rnd: J Kerr (Aus) & K Bondarenko (Ukr) bt J
Brunstrom (Swe) & T Bacsinszky (Swi) 6-4 6-4; K
Skupski & E Baltacha bt M Mertinak (Svk) & A Hla-
vackova (Cze) 6-2 6-3.
2nd Rnd:(7) M MIRNYI (Blr) & A KLEYBANOVA (Rus)
bt J Ignacio Chela (Arg) & G Dulko (Arg) 7-6 (7-2)
6-3; J Knowle (Aut) & Y Shvedova (Kaz) bt (4) O MA-
RACH (Aut) & N Llagostera Vives (Sp) 6-2 6-2; (10)
M MELO (Br) & R STUBBS (Aus) bt H Tecau (Rom) &
M Niculescu (Rom) 6-3 6-2; B Soares (Br) & S-W
Hsieh (Tpe) bt (13) R LINDSTEDT (Swe) & E
MAKAROVA (Rus) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
BOY’S SINGLES
HOLDER: A Kuznetsov (Rus)
1st Rnd: (3) T FERNANDES (Br) bt T Farquharson
6-2 7-5; (11) M ZSIGA (Hun) bt T Daniel (Jpn) 4-6
6-2 6-1; J Eleveld (Hol) bt N Chappell (US) 6-2 6-4; A
Triki (Tun) bt A Rumyantsev (Rus) 6-3 7-5; (9) R OL-
IVO (Arg) bt J Kovalik (Svk) 6-4 3-6 6-3; O Golding bt
D Novikov (US) 6-4 6-2; M Frank (US) bt J Patrombon
(Phi) 6-1 7-5; (12) M BIRYUKOV (Rus) bt P Heller
(Ger) 6-4 3-6 7-5; (7) D KUDLA (US) bt B McLachlan
(NZ) 6-1 6-4; L Broady bt H Dellien (Bol) 6-0 6-1; G
Clezar (Br) bt L Bambridge 6-1 6-3; R Sarmiento
(US) bt K Edmund 6-4 6-4; A Colella (It) bt T Blom-
gren (Swe) 6-1 6-4; J Lupescu (Hol) bt R Arneodo
(Fr) 2-6 6-4 6-4; F Horansky (Svk) bt G Morgan 7-5
7-5.
GIRL’S SINGLES
HOLDER: N Lertcheewakarn (Thai)
1st Rnd: (12) O JABEUR (Tun) bt C Garcia (Fr) 6-2
6-2; J Cepelova (Svk) bt A Van Uytvanck (Bel) 7-5 2-6
6-4; (15) Y PUTINTSEVA (Rus) bt A So Eskenazi (Arg)
6-1 6-4; F Stephenson bt E Mutaguchi (Jpn) 6-4 1-6
7-5; G Min (US) bt (1) E SVITOLINA (Ukr) 2-6 7-5
6-2; E Goldfeld (US) bt K Dunne 6-4 6-2; E Dean bt
(7) G DABROWSKI (Can) 3-6 6-0 6-0; (5) M PUIG
(Pue) bt C Dinu (Rom) 3-6 6-3 6-4; E Bouchard (Can)
bt C Skamlova (Svk) 6-2 6-1; D Eric (Ser) bt L Herring
(US) 1-6 7-5 6-1; (2) I KHROMACHEVA (Rus) bt M
Grage (Den) 6-3 6-3; (3) T BABOS (Hun) bt A Omae
(Jpn) 6-3 3-6 6-4; (16) D GAVRILOVA (Rus) bt G Sar
Ysidora (Ina) 7-5 7-5; (10) S ISHIZU (Jpn) bt S Njiric
(Cro) 6-4 6-6 (6-4); A Perez (Ven) bt N Abbes (Tun)
7-5 6-3; J Jaksic (Ser) bt L Brown 6-3 6-4.
DOC TO RESCUE FOR NADAL - PAGES 80&81
CENTRE COURT
0 5
6 7
WOMEN’S
3RD ROUND
SERENA
WILLIAMS (USA)
DOMINIKA
CIBULKOVA (SLO)
Serena’s on
a power trip
n FEEL THE FORCE — Serena Williams puts everything into another ferocious backhand as she overwhelms Dominika Cibulkova on Centre Court yesterday
ACTIONANDNEWSFROMDAY6
1ST SERVE %
ACES
DOUBLE FAULTS
UNFORCED ERRORS
WINNERS
BREAK POINTS TAKEN %
NET POINTS WON
TOTAL POINTS WON
FASTEST SERVE SPEED (MPH)
TIME OF MATCH: 1HR 08MINS
77
20
0
9
37
57
3
66
120
68
1
2
8
8
0
2
36
118
DOMINIKA
CIBULKOVASERENA
WILLIAMS V
NEWS OF THE WORLD, June 27, 2010 791U