Wimbledon 2014: Serena Williams powers into third round
- Published
Top seed Serena Williams needed only 49 minutes to reach the women's singles third round after overwhelming South African Chanelle Scheepers 6-1 6-1.
The five-time former champion was in complete control throughout against the 30-year-old world number 94.
Fifth seed Maria Sharapova was also a winner, beating Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky 6-2 6-1.
"It was tough - there were a few close games but I was happy with the way I stepped up," she told BBC Sport.
"I was a bit nervous coming into the first round and I knew I needed to start better because she had a good first-round win.
"Court One is special to me so I am happy I settled in after the first round and took it from there.
"I'm not thinking about the last few years here, I'm starting from scratch and I want to be motivated to win this title."
Williams had a quick turnaround after playing doubles with sister Venus on Wednesday evening but still managed to serve eight aces and did not face a break point on her own serve.
"It is tough for me, every week I am always the favourite and that can be pressure, but I can deal with it and I'd rather be looked at that way," she told BBC Sport.
Tracy Austin on Maria Sharapova's win |
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"That was just a very solid performance and so often we see a French Open champion coming to Wimbledon looking physically and mentally tired, but Sharapova looks fresh and very alert and very hungry for another Wimbledon title." |
Williams will next face 25th seed Alize Cornet from France in the next round after she beat Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic 6-4 5-7 6-3.
Also through is 11th seed and former world number one Ana Ivanovic.
The Serb was a 6-4 6-0 victor over China's Jie Zheng, who was a semi-finalist in 2008 and her next opponent will be last year's beaten finalist Sabine Lisicki from Germany.
Lisicki was a 6-3 7-5 winner over Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic while Lisicki's compatriot Andrea Petkovic, the 20th seed also went through 6-4 3-6 6-1 against Romania's Irina Begu, despite needing treatment for a knee injury.
Eugenie Bouchard, the 13th seed from Canada, also advanced after a 7-5 6-1 win over Spain's Silvia Soler Espinosa while last year's semi-finalist Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium was a comprehensive 6-2 6-1 conqueror of another Spaniard Lourdes Dominguez Lino, winning in 50 minutes.
But one seed to fall was Spanish 15th seed Carla Suarez Navarro, who was beaten 7-6 (14-12) 5-7 6-2 by Kazakh player Zarina Diyas.
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