Monday’s fourth-round play at the All England Club produced more upsets at the top of the women’s seedings, but also offered more convincing wins from the champions and title contenders.
Second-seeded Jelena Jankovic, hobbled by a knee injury, fell 6-3, 6-2 to Tamarine Tanasugarn. No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open champion, lost 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 to 19-year-old Agnieszka Radwanska.
With top-seeded Ana Ivanovic and No. 3 Maria Sharapova eliminated last week, none of the top-four seeded women reached the quarterfinals — the first time that’s happened at Wimbledon and also the first time at any Grand Slam tournament in the 40-year history of the Open era.
The highest women’s seeded player left is No. 5 Elena Dementieva, who cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win over Shahar Peer. Only three of the top 14 seeded women are left.
The other two are the Williams sisters, and they posted back-to-back victories on Court 2 — nicknamed the “Graveyard of Champions” for its history of upsets. They questioned why they weren’t put on Centre Court or Court 1.
Defending champion and seventh-seeded Venus Williams beat Russian teenager Alisa Kleybanova 6-3, 6-4, while two-time winner and No. 6 Serena downed Bethanie Mattek — the only other American left in the men’s or women’s draw — 6-3, 6-3.
“It wasn’t what I would have liked to see,” Serena Williams said of the Court 2 scheduling. “Initially, I thought, ’Is this the right schedule?’ I thought maybe there was a mistake. But I can’t dwell on that. I just have to focus on doing the best that I can whether I’m on Court 2 or Court 20.”
Later, the sisters made it 3-0 on Court 2 for the day, beating Anabel Medina Garriques and Virginia Ruano Pascal 6-1, 6-4 to reach the quarters of the women’s doubles.
Between them, four-time champion Venus and two-time winner Serena have won six of the last eight women’s singles titles at Wimbledon. They’re in opposite halves of the draw and could meet in the final Saturday. The Williams sisters faced each other in the 2002 and ’03 finals, with Serena winning both.
“Both of us have an opportunity to live our dream, so for us it’s a plus,” Venus Williams said.
Playing with her left knee heavily strapped, Jankovic was never in serious contention against the 60th-ranked Tanasugarn. The 31-year-old Thai, playing in her 12th consecutive Wimbledon, also was treated for a lower back problem during changeovers in the second set.
After converting on match point to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time, Tanasugarn covered her face with her hands and broke into tears.
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