Defending champion Serena Williams put on a serving clinic on Saturday, hitting 20 aces in a straight-sets win over Dominika Cibulkova that sets up a possible fourth-round clash 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 in the day’s first match on Centre Court.
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. She finished the match with 37 winners.
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.
Soderling advances
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.
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, who has reached the round of 16 for the second consecutive year at Wimbledon, is one of only three men yet to drop a set this tournament.
He faces the winner of the match between ninth-seeded David Ferrer and Jeremy Chardy.
