WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—The bid by Venus and Serena Williams for a fifth consecutive Grand Slam title in doubles ended Wednesday with a loss in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

The sisters were beaten 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 by Russians Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva.

The Williamses climbed to No. 1 in doubles for the first time after winning the French Open. They were bidding for their 13th major championship.

Serena, who will play in the semifinals of singles Thursday, wore a bandage on her right shoulder. Zvonareva is in the semifinals of singles for the first time, and they could meet in the final.

The match turned when Venus double-faulted on break point in the second set, giving the Russians a 4-2 lead. Serena lost serve in the third game of the final set, and the sisters didn’t manage a break in the last two sets.

The defeat was only the fifth in 60 matches for the Williamses over the past three years. They fell to 29-2 at Wimbledon.

by Pete Bodo

It’s the cruelest swing of all, in a game that can be full of them. One moment, you’re up 5-4 and serving for the match at Wimbledon, where a single service break can be insurmountable. It’s match point, but something goes awry and you fail to convert. Deuce. You lose the next point, and you’re now down break point—one measly forehand error or double fault away from dead even. You’ve slid from the summit of achievement all the way down into the valley of despair.

Tomas Berdych found himself in just that position today, in the fourth set of his match against Roger Federer, the defending Wimbledon champion and six-time singles titlist. Worse yet, he then served up a fault on first serve. The world, or at least that portion fixated on tennis, held its collective breath. And Federer could provide them no reason to exhale. As the ball approached his powerful, quick-strike forehand, his knees locked up and he more or less waved at the ball, sending it on a leisurely trip into the net.

It was a telling moment, and don’t for a moment think it had anything to do with the back or leg injuries that Federer cited in his subsequent press conferences. It wasn’t his back that failed, and it wasn’t his leg. It was his nerve. That’s how it is when a great champion’s determination and courage begin to ebb. And, like the proverbial cuckold, he’s always the last to know.

True, it isn’t as if converting that break point would have guaranteed Federer yet another back-from-the-brink win of the kind he managed in his first-round match with Alejandro Falla. And it’s not like Federer has morphed from the greatest player of all time into chump-of-the-month. But that point represents Federer’s present dilemma, and it will stand as a handy symbol for the price Federer has had to pay for emerging from that cocoon of invincibility in which he’s lived so long.

For most of this year, Federer has—consciously or not—operated on the premise that when it really matters, he’d be able to summon up not just his A-game, but his A-desire. His A-appetite. His A-determination.

Not true. What he conjured up today, when he most needed to perform like a storybook hero, was his A-humanity. He’s just like you and me. Only better at tennis. As he would say, after an unconvincing if healthy bout of excuse-making (turns out he was “unlucky” as well as hurt), “I definitely gave away this match, I feel.”

The man Federer “gave” it to saw it a little differently. Berdych was reasonable in his assessment of Federer’s post-match comments, suggesting without malice that Federer was just “looking for excuses.” He dismissed the bad-luck motif, and told us that all this stuff about the back and whatnot was news to him—when he’d read the newspaper in the morning, Federer said he felt “fine,” and pointed out that despite Berdych’s win over him at Wimbledon, Federer won “pretty easy” the last time the men met there.

Neither Federer nor Berdych is given to trash-talking, and Berdych understands that a multiple Wimbledon champion and owner of 16 major titles is unlikely to pronounce himself unworthy of beating a guy who’s only made the semifinals at one other Grand Slam event—a month ago in Paris. But it’s also unlikely that Berdych is going to melt back into the tour woodwork, just another big guy with a big serve and equally menacing ground strokes who happened to come up with a hot hand when it most mattered.

Greg Couch, an AOL.com columnist, asked a pertinent question of Federer: Are these big, strapping guys taking your measure, do you need to do anything differently to combat the threat they represent? After all, Berdych, who’s now 2-0 against Federer in 2010, as well as Robin Soderling, who blasted Federer out of the French Open in the quarterfinals (thereby ending TMF’s Grand Slam semifinal streak at 23) are among the top performers this year (Soderling lost today to Rafael Nadal, albeit while suffering from an injury that was confirmed by a televised close up of his heavily taped foot during an injury timeout).

The way Berdych and Soderling have been playing is bound to resuscitate the “big men will rule” predictions that began when Marat Safin astonishingly belted his way to the U.S. Open title back at the dawn of the new millenium, and which Roger Federer, with assists from Rafael Nadal and the unreliable Safin himself, stopped dead in its ontological tracks. But now that Federer appears increasingly vulnerable, and Soderling and Berdych have shown themselves capable of beating both icons, it’s bound to re-emerge—with a vengeance.

Federer dismissed Couch’s suggestion, saying, “Well, if I’m healthy I can handle those guys, you know. Obviously it’s a pity that [Juan Martin] del Potro is not around, because I think he would have a run at world No. 1 or a run at another Grand Slam. It’s unfortunate for him. But, you know, he’s been playing well, and these guys do play very well. I played these guys 10 times. They’re not going to reinvent themselves in a year, you know.” 

Funny that Federer should mention del Potro, who overwhelmed him in the U.S. Open final last September. Del Potro has been sidelined since the beginning of this year with a terrible wrist injury, and his return has been put off month after month. But put him in the company of Berdych, Soderling, and perhaps even Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, as a new wave of big men reviving an old theory. Perhaps Federer, in his signature passive-aggressive way, is not as oblivious to the big man theme as he made out. It’s undeniable that in the last four Grand Slam events he’s played, he’s lost to one of the towering, physical players three times (on the fourth occasion, he beat Andy Murray for the Australian Open title in February).

Federer was talking about his sore back when he said, “It’s just not nice when it doesn’t go away and you can’t play freely. That’s what I was missing today.” But it was not simply Federer’s back that prevented him from assuming leadership in the match, and working his magic untrammeled. As he said a little later: “He [Berdych] played well when he had to. It was brutal for me. Every time he had a chance, he took it. On the break points—he played great on those. Then when I had chances early on, I was actually not too bad, I just felt like I got the unlucky bounce once in a while, you know. Thirty-all he got it on the line over and over again. I just felt like I couldn’t create enough chances to really get the breakthrough. When I did have chances, I played poorly. It was just a frustrating match the way it all went.”

With those words, Federer gave a fair description of exactly why it can be so hard to beat a big, powerful player who can lean on you, take your time away, irrespective of the state of your back, or leg. It’s true on any fast surface, and particularly so here at Wimbledon. Sure, the courts have been slowed down, making life easier for ground-strokers and baseline players. But the impact on the serve has been less pronounced, and the serve remains a greater weapon on grass than any other surface.

So what of that critical swing at the end of the match, with Berdych going from match point up to break point down?

“I think it was one of my, like, toughest close up of a match when I was serving. I would say through all my career matches, this one was the toughest one to close up, this match against Roger, Centre Court in Wimbledon. But, you know, I handle it pretty well. I just closing up with my serve. I didn’t lost it. And, you know, I mean, that’s how it is. It was a really close match, about a few points. This day it just went on my side.”

That’s an honest and humble assessment from a man who made the round-trip from the peak to the valley and lived to tell about it. Luck had very little, if anything, to do with that exalted journey.

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—Three-time finalist Andy Roddick was stunned in the fourth round at Wimbledon on Monday by an 82nd-ranked Taiwanese player who hadn’t won a match here the past four years.

The fifth-seeded American was ousted 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 9-7 by Yen-hsun Lu in a match that lasted more than 4 1/2 hours.

Lu sealed the victory in the 16th game of the fifth set with his only service break of the match.

The 26-year-old Lu had lost in the first round at Wimbledon four straight times and failed to win a match at the past five Grand Slams.

He’s the first Asian man to reach the quarterfinals of any Grand Slam since Shuzo Matsuoka of Japan did it at Wimbledon in 1995.

Roddick had 38 aces, but converted only one of eight breakpoint chances. Lu finished with 22 aces.

“I thought he served better than he has against me before,” Roddick said. “That being said, I had shots. I didn’t take advantage of them.”

Lu’s win overshadowed victories by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray on the men’s side, and the Williams sisters and Kim Clijsters among the women.

Before Monday, Lu was 9-18 in Grand Slam matches, 11-17 on grass and 2-10 overall against top-10 ranked players. It was his first win over a top-10 player since he beat Murray in the first round of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion, has lost three times to Federer in Wimbledon finals, including last year’s epic match that went to 16-14 in the fifth set. He had beaten Lu in straight sets in three previous meetings.

Roddick evened Monday’s match by serving a 126 mph ace on the final point of the fourth-set tiebreaker, and had a chance for a decisive break in the fifth. But, on break point at 4-4, Lu came up with a perfect backhand volley and went on to hold serve.

Serving with Lu ahead 8-7, Roddick hit a forehand long at 30-all to set up match point. Lu converted by hitting a running forehand passing shot down the line.

“Through three sets I was playing horrendously, I mean really, really badly,” Roddick said. “I was trying to think of how to put balls in the court. I think the fifth set was probably the best set that I played … but when you dig yourself a hole, it’s tough to get out.”

Lu said he didn’t believe he could win but told himself to keep fighting.

“I just told myself, ‘If I can stay longer, longer, longer, then probably something happens’,” he said. “And finally then I waited for the last chance to close the match.”

Lu, who held up a finger to the sky, dedicated the win to his father, a chicken farmer who died in 2000.

Earlier, defending women’s champion Serena Williams overcame Maria Sharapova 7-6 (9), 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals and avenge her loss to the Russian in the 2004 final.

Clijsters rallied to beat Justine Henin 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 in an all-Belgian duel between former No. 1-ranked players making Wimbledon comebacks after returning from retirement.

Defending champion Federer, 2008 champion Nadal, third-seeded Djokovic, No. 4 Murray and five-time women’s winner Venus Williams also advanced on an action-packed day featuring all remaining 32 men’s and women’s players in fourth-round matches.

Serena Williams served 19 aces for the second straight match—taking her total to 63 for the tournament—and held off the resurgent Sharapova in a tight battle on Centre Court.

“I don’t serve like this too often,” Williams said. “I don’t know what it is about this court that makes me serve well.”

In 2004, Sharapova—17 years old at the time—stunned Williams 6-1, 6-4 for her first Grand Slam title.

“That was so long ago that I don’t think it gives me any more added or any less satisfaction,” Williams said after Monday’s match. “We’re both different players. She’s obviously improved. Hopefully I’ve improved since six years ago.”

Williams finished with 31 winners and 17 errors, while Sharapova had 14 winners and 18 errors.

“I had a few looks at her serve, but even when you had a good look and the ball’s coming at you in 120s (mph), it’s pretty tough to do much with it,” Sharapova said.

Clijsters came from a set down against Henin and is 13-12 in career meetings against her compatriot.

Henin received treatment on her right elbow on three changeovers after slipping and falling to the turf as she charged to the net at 2-1 in the first set. She said the elbow was “quite painful” and bothered her on her serves and backhands, but didn’t know the extent of the problem.

“I don’t really know how it affected (the match),” said Henin, who has seven Grand Slam titles but has yet to win Wimbledon. “We’ll see in the next few days.”

Henin seemed in complete command after easily winning the first set, but Clijsters—a two-time U.S. Open champion—lifted her game in the second. Clijsters made the decisive break in the eighth game of the final set, and the two exchanged kisses on the cheek at the net.

“I can’t believe we’re back to this after so many years of battling against each other,” Clijsters said.

Federer, chasing a record-tying seventh Wimbledon singles title, swept past 16th-seeded Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 to reach his 25th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal.

“I thought I played great,” said Federer, who next plays Tomas Berdych. “Aggressive right from the start.”

Nadal, forced into five sets the previous two rounds, needed only three Monday to beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, and showed no sign of the right knee trouble which bothered him.

Nadal faces sixth-seeded Robin Soderling, the Swede who beat him in the fourth round at the French Open last year. Nadal beat Soderling in last month’s French Open final.

Soderling, who hadn’t dropped a set until Monday, needed five sets to beat No. 9 David Ferrer 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 to make the quarters for the first time.

Djokovic beat 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals for the second year in a row. The Serb received medical treatment in the third set for stomach cramps, but regained the advantage in the fourth with two service breaks.

Murray beat American Sam Querrey 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the final eight for the third consecutive year. He’s the only player in the men’s draw who hasn’t lost a set.

Murray, seeking to become the first British player to win the men’s singles title since Fred Perry in 1936, will next meet 10th-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Venus Williams pulled out a tough 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory over Jarmila Groth of Australia, the lowest-ranked player left in the draw at No. 92.

Third-seeded Caroline Wozniacki lost 6-2, 6-0 to unseeded Czech Petra Kvitova.

Also making the quarters were No. 9 Li Na of China, Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria and qualifier Kaia Kanepi of Estonia.

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—Top-ranked Rafael Nadal has advanced to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon after a straight-sets victory over Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu.

Forced into five sets in the previous two rounds, the Spaniard had little trouble with the unseeded Mathieu, winning 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in 2 hours.

Nadal, the 2008 champion, has now won 11 consecutive matches at the All England Club. He hasn’t lost at Wimbledon since the 2007 final against Roger Federer.

Nadal had only nine unforced errors and conceded just 14 points on serve, while breaking his opponent five times.

He will face sixth-seeded Robin Soderling in the quarterfinals. The Swede beat Nadal in the fourth round at the French Open last year.

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—Defending champion Serena Williams overcame Maria Sharapova 7-6 (9), 6-4 on Monday to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals and avenge her loss to the Russian in the 2004 final.

In another marquee women’s matchup, Kim Clijsters rallied to beat Justine Henin 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 in an all-Belgian duel between former No. 1-ranked players making Wimbledon comebacks after returning from retirement.

Defending champion Roger Federer, third-seeded Novak Djokovic and five-time women’s winner Venus Williams also advanced on an action-packed day featuring all remaining 32 men’s and women’s players in fourth-round matches.

Serena Williams served 19 aces for the second straight match—taking her total to 63 for the tournament—and held off the resurgent Sharapova in a tight battle on Centre Court.

Williams, who hit four aces in the opening game, saved three set points in the tiebreaker to stay in command.

“I played really well and I thought I had my chances,” said Sharapova, who hurt her own cause with seven double faults. “If it was not for her really great serving, I certainly had a real good look at winning the match.”

In 2004, Sharapova—17 years old at the time—stunned Williams 6-1, 6-4 for her first Grand Slam title.

“That was so long ago that I don’t think it gives me any more added or any less satisfaction,” Williams said after Monday’s match. “We’re both different players. She’s obviously improved. Hopefully I’ve improved since six years ago.”

Sharapova came back from 3-1 down in the first set and had Williams on the ropes in the tiebreaker, but failed to convert. Leading 6-4, she hit a forehand into the net before Williams smacked a forehand winner to make it 6-6.

With Sharapova up 8-7, Williams hit a service winner to save another set point. At 9-all, Sharapova double-faulted. Williams then converted her third set point with her 13th ace.

Serving for the match in the second set, Williams hit another ace and a service winner. She finished with 31 winners and 17 errors, while Sharapova had 14 winners and 18 errors.

“I had a few looks at her serve, but even when you had a good look and the ball’s coming at you in 120s (mph), it’s pretty tough to do much with it,” Sharapova said.

Clijsters came from a set down against Henin and is now 13-12 in career meetings against her compatriot.

Henin received treatment on her right elbow on three changeovers after slipping and falling to the turf as she charged to the net at 2-1 in the first set. She said the elbow was “quite painful” and bothered her on her serves and backhands, but didn’t know the extent of the problem.

“I don’t really know how it affected (the match),” said Henin, who has seven Grand Slam titles but has yet to win Wimbledon. “We’ll see in the next few days.”

Henin seemed in complete command after easily winning the first set, but Clijsters—a two-time U.S. Open champion—lifted her game in the second.

Clijsters made the decisive break in the eighth game of the final set after Henin sailed a forehand long, then served out the match. The two exchanged kisses on the cheek at the net.

“I can’t believe we’re back to this after so many years of battling against each other,” Clijsters said. “I think this was our 25th battle, so we go way back but we play really good tennis and I think we showed some good stuff out there today.”

Federer, chasing a record-tying seventh Wimbledon singles title, swept past 16th-seeded Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. The top-seeded Federer, who was broken once but lost only 15 of 63 points on serve, has now reached the quarterfinals at 25 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments.

“I thought I played great,” he said. “Aggressive right from the start.”

Djokovic beat 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals for the second year in a row. The Serb received medical treatment in the third set for what appeared to be an abdominal muscle problem, but regained the advantage in the fourth with two service breaks.

Fourth-seeded Andy Murray, seeking to become the first British player to win the men’s singles title since Fred Perry in 1936, beat American Sam Querrey 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the final eight for the third consecutive year. Murray will next face 10th-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Sixth-seeded Robin Soderling, who hadn’t dropped a set until Monday, needed five sets to beat No. 9 David Ferrer 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 to make the quarters for the first time. Soderling, a French Open finalist the past two years, will play either 2008 champion Rafael Nadal or Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu for a berth in the semifinals.

Venus Williams overcame a tough challenge from the lowest-ranked player left in the draw. The second-seeded Williams broke back twice to stay in the second set, then escaped in the tiebreaker to complete a 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory on Court 2 over 92nd-ranked Jarmila Groth of Australia.

“There wasn’t a lot of room for error for either one of us against each other’s serve,” Williams said. “She played really well today. I didn’t think she made too many errors. Just really played some smart tennis and took advantage of opportunities. I played well at the end to close it out.”

The victory sent Williams into her 31st Grand Slam quarterfinal and improved her record to 12-0 in fourth-round matches at the All England Club. She could potentially face Serena in Saturday’s final.

Vera Zvonareva advanced when fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic retired with a back injury while trailing 6-1, 3-0. It’s the fourth time the Serb has gone out in the fourth round here, while the Russian made it to the quarters for the first time. She will next face Clijsters.

Third-seeded Caroline Wozniacki lost 6-2, 6-0 in just 46 minutes to unseeded Czech Petra Kvitova. The 19-year-old Dane, last year’s U.S. Open runner-up, was overwhelmed by the 62nd-ranked Kvitova, managing just four winners to her opponent’s 23.

Also making the quarters were No. 9 Li Na of China, Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria and qualifier Kaia Kanepi of Estonia.

ORLANDO, Florida (AP)—Former tennis star Jennifer Capriati was recovering Monday from an accidental overdose of prescribed medication, a family spokeswoman said.

The 34-year-old Capriati, once ranked No. 1 in a career sidetracked by personal troubles, was in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery, spokeswoman Lacey Wickline told The Associated Press. She declined to identify the medication.

Capriati was rushed to a South Florida hospital early Sunday morning, she said. Wickline would not say how Capriati was found or who called emergency services.
 
“In response to an outpouring of concern and support shown by Jennifer’s fans and friends worldwide, we would like to acknowledge that Jen is recuperating at a South Florida hospital from an accidental overdose of medication prescribed to Jen by her personal physician,” Wickline said. “Jen is recovering fully and stably.”

“The Capriati family asks that you respect our privacy at this time. As we will provide updates when available,” she added.

Public records show Capriati owns a condo on Singer Island in Palm Beach County, Florida. Riviera Beach city spokeswoman Rose Anne Brown said a person was transported from Capriati’s address Sunday morning but could not provide details, citing privacy laws. Nearby hospitals did not have a patient listed under Capriati’s name.

Celebrity website TMZ first reported that Capriati was hospitalized.

At Wimbledon, Venus and Serena Williams paused after wins Monday to extend their concern.

“I probably will definitely see how that goes and pray for everyone involved,” Serena Williams said. “If there’s any way I can do anything to help, reach out, I definitely will do that.”

Venus Williams added: “I remember her match against Monica (Seles) in the semifinals of the (French) Open. I remember watching that and just thinking how great that tennis was. So definitely a lot of fond memories just watching her growing up, and obviously even playing against her, respecting her game so much.”

Kim Clijsters also posted on her Twitter site, “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Jen! I hope she makes it through ok and can get some help!”

Capriati won three majors—two Australian Opens and one French Open—and a gold medal in the 1992 Olympics. She also was the youngest semifinalist at the French Open, when at age 14 she lost to eventual champion Seles in 1990.

But the child prodigy burned out of tennis and retired several times from a game she had been pushed to play nearly her entire life.

She was arrested in 1993 for shoplifting at a Florida mall, and again in 1994 for marijuana possession. She also spent more than a week in drug rehabilitation in 1994, and acquaintances alleged she used crack cocaine and heroin during a weekend party before her arrest at a Coral Gables motel.

Capriati, however, came back strong several times from both injuries and personal issues.

She won three majors—two Australian Opens and one French Open between 2001-02—to go along with her gold medal in the 1992 Olympics. She was the youngest semifinalist at the French Open in 1990, when at age 14 she lost to Seles, the eventual champion.

Capriati reached the U.S. Open semifinals in 2003, losing to Justine Henin. She failed to gain any momentum from that run and soon faded from the game again.

by Bobby Chintapalli, Contributing Writer

If Serena Williams wins Wimbledon, I’ll remember Dominika Cibulkova’s smile. The way she was beaming during the handshake after her third-round match against Serena you’d think she won, maybe even served up a bagel along the way. (She lost 6-0, 7-5.) I can only guess what the smile was about, and I’m going with disbelief and relief. Disbelief that Serena served like that, relief that finally it was over.

I saw the stats before I saw the match. They showed that Serena served 20 aces. I was suspicious, because who does that?  Not Lucie Hradecka, I knew; she served the most aces in one WTA match this year, but that was a mere 18 in a French Open first-round match against Alexandra Dulgheru (Hradecka lost). Not even Serena Williams, I thought; she served 17 in that I’m-awake-now-and-ready-to-play Australian Open quarterfinal win over Victoria Azarenka. To make things more perplexing the stats showed Serena served no double faults. (Incidentally the Wimbledon website’s match stats, which first showed 20 aces for Serena, now show 19; I counted 20. They also show 13 aces for Cibulkova, and that’s not close to true, by my count.)

I also read Serena’s presser before I watched the match, and her words suggested she had a good serving day, even by her standards. She wasn’t thrilled with her whole performance, but she was happy about the same thing that stood out in the stats: “Serving that well feels awesome… I wish I could serve like this every tournament.”

The only thing left to do was watch the match. And count. The aces were there all right, all 20 of them. Watching Serena in that match I didn’t think of those things I call her out for off the court, not even about that “strawberries and cream” tennis kit or those eye-popping nails. I thought about that all-powerful serve. What must it be like to possess a shovel you know can dig you out of almost any hole, and for your opponent to know it too? It was the most dominating WTA serving I’ve ever seen.

First Set (6-0, 6 aces)

The serveathon began as you’d expect – with Serena serving an ace, about as out wide as you could go. A point later she served another ace, about as down the middle as you could go. Six games and 18 minutes later, the first set was over. Cibulkova had won one point on Serena’s serve, and Serena had racked up six aces.

“As a player you just feel so helpless playing against a player like Serena when she’s playing this well,” said ESPN commentator Mary Joe Fernandez of Cibulkova. “It’s crossing her mind right now that this could be a love and love match.”

Second Set (7-5, 14 aces) 

Things changed some in the second set though. Cibulkova showed she “packed a punch”, as Serena put it. She served better and went for her shots more. (Billie Jean King cautioned Serena that if an opponent gets bageled “you’ve got to expect them to really come out loose, like they have absolutely nothing to lose.”) Serena made a few more unforced errors and didn’t return serve as well.

But her serve never went away, not to Hawaii or anywhere. She served two aces in every game except one – in that one, she decided to serve four. By the end of the second set she’d served 14 more aces, taking her match total to 20. ESPN’s Mary Joe Fernandez and Dick Enberg couldn’t help but feel for the unwitting participant in Serena’s serving practice.

Enberg: “This is a heavyweight fighting a bantamweight.”
Fernandez: “My goodness – this doesn’t seem fair sometimes.”

Cibulkova, like Azarenka at the Australian Open, seemed calmer than you’d expect. She twirled her racquet, bounced around, prepared for every serve like she had a shot at it. If it was another ace, she walked quickly to the other side of the court and started her routine all over again. A few times she shrugged, threw her hands up or looked up at the sky or her box, but for the most part she seemed resigned to her fate.

After 20 Aces

After match point it was Serena who looked annoyed. She looked at her box and shook her head slightly. A few minutes after walking off the court she said, “I served well in the second, and that’s about all I did well. Hopefully I can keep serving well, but I have to play better than I did today.” Surely she’s thinking about the level of tennis she’ll need to summon for her fourth-round match against Maria Sharapova, the only former Wimbledon champion in the draw who’s not her sibling.

If Sharapova remembers one thing about this match – she’ll study it, won’t she? – it will be the 20 aces. They’ve taken Serena even higher on the ladies’ singles ace list. She now has 43 aces. That’s more than twice as many as Jarmila Groth, who’s in second place with 21, and more than Venus Williams, who served 18.

How does she do it? John McEnroe has commented that Serena practices her serve more than others do, in a way that others don’t. Maybe. And the serve seems too simple to be so effective, but is the simplicity the secret sauce? There are no long rituals beforehand, few retosses, hardly any moving parts. It’s toss, hit, ace… and, on a special day, repeat 20 times.

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—Top-ranked Rafael Nadal rallied for another five-set victory Saturday, overcoming knee problems, an umpire’s warning and a tough challenge from a hard-hitting German to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon.

Nadal battled back from two-sets-to-one down for the second straight match to defeat Philipp Petzschner 6-4, 4-6, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3 in a Centre Court slugfest.

Defending women’s champion Serena Williams had a much easier time, serving 19 aces in a straight-sets win over Dominika Cibulkova that set up a fourth-round matchup with former champion Maria Sharapova.
 
The top-seeded Williams had at least two aces in each of her nine service games and overpowered the 46th-ranked Slovak 6-0, 7-5.

The second-seeded Nadal, who won the title in 2008 but missed last year’s tournament due to tendinitis in his knees, called for the trainer four separate times for treatment on his left arm and right knee but never looked badly hurt.

“I hope I’ll be fine,” Nadal said afterward. “I don’t know. I’m going to check. It’s not a big problem. It’s a long season for me. I have played a lot of matches the last few months.

“Having a five-set match two days ago and one today—that’s tough. I’m happy to be in the fourth round. I’m going to try to be better for Monday.”

Nadal said he will definitely play Monday’s match against France’s Paul-Henri Matthieu, who beat Thiemo de Bakker in four sets.

“I am here to try my best and to try to keep in the tournament,” he said.

Nadal said his right knee has been bothering him for several months, and that he will skip Spain’s Davis Cup quarterfinal against France next month in order to get treatment.

Fourth-seeded Andy Murray followed Nadal on Centre Court and beat Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, keeping alive Britain’s hopes for a first homegrown male champion since 1936.

Murray, who hasn’t dropped a set so far, served 15 aces, conceded only 15 points on serve and did not face a single break point.

Murray will now face 18th-seeded American Sam Querrey, who overcame Belgian Xavier Malisse to reach the fourth round here for the first time.

The 33rd-seeded Petzschner, playing his third straight five-setter, also needed medical treatment for a recurring hip problem on several changeovers and looked exhausted in the final set against Nadal.

The German questioned Nadal’s injury breaks.

“You have to ask him what it was. But I didn’t feel any difference afterwards or before. I thought he was moving great. I only could say if I would be injured like this once I would be happy. I don’t know. Maybe he had something. Maybe it was just a clever part to take a time-out there.”

Nadal denied any gamesmanship.

“I never call the physio when I don’t have nothing, not one time in my career,” he said. “If I call the physio today, it was because it was bothering me a lot, the knee.”

Nadal received a warning from chair umpire Cedric Mourier at 2-2 in the fifth set for receiving coaching from coach and uncle Toni Nadal, who was sitting in the front row of the players’ guest box. Rafael Nadal pointed angrily at the umpire, spread his arms wide and shouted at him before resuming play.

Nadal said he told the umpire he wants to discuss the issue later with the tournament supervisor.

“He wasn’t giving me any tip,” Nadal said. “He was only supporting me.”

Toni Nadal denied coaching, saying he was only encouraging the player.

“I say, `Positive! Positivo!’ Nothing else,” he said.

The incident seemed to inspire Nadal, who closed out the game with an overhead and looked over at his uncle with a sneer as he walked to his chair.

After a service hold by the German, Nadal ran off the last three games to finish the match. He got the decisive break to go up 5-2 when Petzschner missed a tired forehand wide. Nadal served out the match at love, then pumped his arms and saluted the crowd as he basked in a big ovation.

Nadal, who was stretched to five sets in the second round by Robin Haase, looked on the ropes for a while against the 26-year-old German. Petzschner served 25 aces and finished with 63 winners, compared to 56 for Nadal. But he also had 40 unforced errors, compared to 18 for the Spaniard.

Nadal faced only two break points and was broken just once, but went 1-11 on break points until converting his last three.

Williams, meanwhile, won 37 of 43 service points and held at love five times. She won 19 of her first 20 service points, with Cibulkova putting only four returns in play in that stretch.

“Serving that well feels awesome,” Williams said. “I serve well at Wimbledon for some unknown reason. I want to keep doing it. I wish I could serve like this every tournament.”

The first set lasted just 18 minutes, with Williams winning 25 of 31 points, serving six aces and hitting 12 winners. It was the third match in a row that Williams won the first set 6-0.

Cibulkova, a semifinalist at the French Open last year, finally got on the scoreboard when she held serve for 1-1 in the second set. From then on, she kept the match competitive by holding serve, although she couldn’t cope with Williams’ serves.

Williams credited Cibulkova with raising her game but was unhappy with her own performance in the second set.

“I just kind of came off the gas a little too much,” she said. “Just can’t do that in big Grand Slams like this.”

Williams, chasing her fourth Wimbledon title and 13th Grand Slam crown, will face Sharapova on Monday in a rematch of the 2004 final won by the Russian.

Sharapova served an ace on match point to beat Czech player Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 7-5, 6-3. It was an uneven performance by Sharapova, who overcame 35 unforced errors and six double faults.

Sharapova is coming back into top form after right shoulder surgery in 2008. Because she is seeded 16th, she and Williams are meeting in the fourth round rather than the later stages.

“I definitely don’t think it’s early,” Williams said. “It is what it is. You always have to be ready. She’s obviously really good, especially on grass.”

Recalling the 2004 final, Williams said, “I just remember I was really nervous. I think I put too much pressure on myself. It didn’t work out. That was that.”

Despite her easy run through the first three rounds this week, Williams said she didn’t feel she is playing as well as last year when she beat sister Venus in the final.

“I definitely have to pick up and play better,” she said.

Sharapova said she was looking forward to the showdown with Williams.

“I love playing against her,” Sharapova said. “She’s the defending champion. She’s great on this surface. She’s won numerous Grand Slams. If there’s a challenge ahead of you, it’s definitely playing against her, and I enjoy that.”

Also Saturday, third-seeded Caroline Wozniacki made it to the fourth round by beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-4. She’ll face unseeded Czech Petra Kvitova, who upset 14th-seeded Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-0.

In men’s play, sixth-seeded Robin Soderling beat the 24th-ranked Thomaz Bellucci 6-4, 6-2, 7-5.

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—Robin Soderling of Sweden has advanced to the fourth round of Wimbledon after a straight-sets victory over Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil.

Sixth-seeded Soderling, a two-time French Open finalist, beat the 24th-ranked Bellucci 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 in just under two hours Saturday.

After breezing through the first two sets, the Swede faced a stiffer challenge from the left-handed Brazilian in the third, when he saved three break points in the penultimate game of the match.

Soderling is one of only three men yet to drop at Wimbledon, where he has reached the round of 16 for the second consecutive year.

He will play the winner of the match between ninth-seeded David Ferrer and Jeremy Chardy.

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—Defending champion Serena Williams put on a serving clinic Saturday, hitting 20 aces in a straight-sets win over Dominika Cibulkova that set up a fourth-round matchup with former champion Maria Sharapova.

The top-seeded American had at least two aces in each of her eight service games and overpowered the 46th-ranked Slovak 6-0, 7-5 on Centre Court.

“Serving that well feels awesome,” Williams said. “I serve well at Wimbledon for some unknown reason. I want to keep doing it. I wish I could serve like this every tournament.”
 
Williams won 37 of 43 service points and held at love five times. She won 19 of her first 20 service points, with Cibulkova putting only four returns in play in that stretch.

The first set lasted just 18 minutes, with Williams winning 25 of 31 points, serving six aces and hitting 12 winners. It was the third match in a row that Williams won the first set 6-0.

Cibulkova, a semifinalist at the French Open last year, finally got on the scoreboard when she held serve for 1-1 in the second set. From then on, she kept the match competitive by holding serve, although she couldn’t cope with Williams’ serves.

Cibulkova saved a match point while serving at 4-5 with a crosscourt backhand winner, but Williams broke in the 12th game to close out the match.

Williams credited Cibulkova with raising her game but was unhappy with her own performance in the second set.

“I just kind of came off the gas a little too much,” she said. “Just can’t do that in big Grand Slams like this.”

Cibulkova—generously listed at 5-foot-3 (1.61 m)—looked tiny and fragile next to the imposing physique of the 5-foot-9 (1.75 m) Williams.

“It was really hard returning her serve because she was mixing her serve and playing really fast serves to the lines,” she said. “I couldn’t even get the ball, not even try to hit a return.

“I really doubt if somebody can beat her here if she plays like this.”

Williams, chasing her fourth Wimbledon title and 13th Grand Slam crown, will face Sharapova on Monday in a rematch of the 2004 final won by the Russian.

Sharapova served an ace on match point to beat Czech player Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 7-5, 6-3. It was an uneven performance by Sharapova, who overcame 35 unforced errors and six double faults.

Sharapova is coming back into top form after right shoulder surgery in 2008. Because she is seeded 16th, she and Williams are meeting in the fourth round rather than the later stages.

“I definitely don’t think it’s early,” Williams said. “It is what it is. You always have to be ready. She’s obviously really good, especially on grass.”

Recalling the 2004 final, Williams said, “I just remember I was really nervous. I think I put too much pressure on myself. It didn’t work out. That was that.”

Despite her easy run through the first three rounds this week, Williams said she didn’t feel she is playing as well as last year when she beat sister Venus in the final.

“I definitely have to pick up and play better,” she said.

Also Saturday, third-seeded Caroline Wozniacki made it to the fourth round by beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-4. She’ll face unseeded Czech Petra Kvitova, who upset 14th-seeded Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-0. Seventh-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska advanced with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Sara Errani of Italy.

In men’s play, sixth-seeded Robin Soderling beat the 24th-ranked Thomaz Bellucci 6-4, 6-2, 7-5, his third straight victory without losing a set.

Second-seeded Rafael Nadal, the 2008 champion, was facing Philipp Petzschner, while No. 4 Andy Murray was to play Gilles Simon.