Serena Williams erased three breaks in the final set to stave off an upset bid by British home favorite Heather Watson in the third round of Wimbledon.Williams was broken twice to trail 3-0 in the decider before turning things around, winning 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 Friday to keep alive her bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam. Williams went up 4-3 in the final set only to be broken again in the ninth game, giving Watson a chance to serve out the match. Williams broke right back again, however, held at love and then converted her third match point.Novak Djokovic isn’t facing much of a test so far in defense of his title. He’s played three matches, won all in straight sets, and never dropped more than four games in any set.
The top-ranked Djokovic disposed off Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 on Friday on Centre Court to sail into the fourth round and bolster his bid for a third Wimbledon title and ninth Grand Slam championship.“I was hoping that I can play better and better as the tournament progresses and that’s exactly what is happening right now,” said Djokovic, who extended his career record against Tomic to 4-0. “I think as I’m moving on through the tournament I feel more confident on the court.”
Djokovic needed only 1 hour, 32 minutes to put away Tomic, serving 15 aces, breaking four times, never losing serve and making only 12 unforced errors.“ I am pleased with the way I’m playing, definitely,” he said. “It’s very close to where I want to be. Hopefully in the second week I can play even better.”He’ll next face big-serving Kevin Anderson, the 14th-seeded South African, who beat leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-4, 7-6 (6), 6-3.Also advancing were French Open champion Stan Wawrinka, who swept Ferando Verdasco 6-4, 6-3, 6-4; Richard Gasquet, who dismantled No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Centre Court; and Belgium’s David Goffin, who downed Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets.
Nick Kyrgios — the 20-year-old Australian who stunned Rafael Nadal here last year — served 34 aces and hit flashy winners from all over the court to upset seventh-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-3 to reach the round of 16 for the second year in a row.“I don’t fear anyone,” Kyrgios said. “I definitely feel I’m playing better tennis than last year.”In women’s play, former champion Maria Sharapova beat 29th-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 6-4, 6-3 and has yet to drop a set. The first woman to make it to the fourth round was American CoCo Vandeweghe, who beat former US Open champion Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-0. It’s the first time the 47th-ranked Vandeweghe has reached the final 16 at a Grand Slam tournament.
Two other American women were eliminated: Belinda Bencic of Switzerland beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 7-5, 7-5, and French Open runnerup lucie Safarova downed Sloane Stephens 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.The battle on Court 2 between Kyrgios and Raonic featured two of the young stars of the game and two of the biggest servers in tennis. While Raonic was stolid and businesslike, Kyrgios was as flamboyant and expressive as ever.Kyrgios next faces Gasquet, who dominated Dimitrov in a match between two players with classic one-handed backhands.
Rohan wins, Bhupathi out
India’s Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea battled past Thomas Bellucci and Guillermo Duran in straight sets to enter the men’s doubles pre-quarterfinals but it was curtains for the mixed doubles duo of Mahesh Bhupathi and Alla Kudryavtseva.