TENNIS /Wimbledon women's round-up:Maria Sharapova dispatched Klara Zakopalova 6-2 6-3 to reach the Wimbledon fourth round today.
The Russian fifth seed looked more assured than in Friday's scrappy win over 17-year-old Briton Laura Robson, blasting a succession of winners past her Czech opponent to take the first set.
Sharapova, Wimbledon champion in 2004, lost concentration at the start of the second as Zakopalova opened up a 3-1 lead but the 24-year-old refused to cave in and stormed back before sealing victory with a thundering forehand winner to set up a fourth-round clash with Shuai Peng, who beat Melinda Czink 6-2 7-6 (7-5).
Serena Williams continued her title defence with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Maria Kirilenko to book a fourth-round showdown with French ninth seed Marion Bartoli, who beat Italy’s Flavia Pennetta 5-7 6-4 9-7.
Williams is playing only her second competition since spending almost a year out through injury and illness.
“I’m feeling better about my game. I’m glad to still be in the tournament,” she said.
“Every match is getting better, my serve is getting better. It’s about getting the rhythm that I’ve been missing a bit. I really want to improve my serve, move and enjoy myself and stay focused.
“Marion is really good, she won at Eastbourne and is doing great so it will be a good match.”
Williams resumed her title defence in the more grand surroundings of Court One after complaining that her previous match had been played on a less high-profile arena situated in the outer reaches of the All England Club.
Organisers responded to the champion’s complaints and she demonstrated why she should be in the limelight by crushing Kirilenko.
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki produced a near-faultless performance as she eased into the fourth round with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Australia’s Jarmila Gajdosova.
Wozniacki, the world number one who is in pursuit of her maiden grand slam title, broke Gajdosova once in the first set and twice in the second to complete a routine win on Centre Court.
“I served well in the important points and I got a lot of returns back. She was very aggressive. I knew she was going to be,” Wozniacki said.
“I was really happy when I got that break in the first set. I knew I just needed to keep my serve.
“Even though I broke her early in the second set again, I was facing break points in the game after.
“I knew I shouldn’t be letting her in the game too much because once she starts to believe that she can be there, then she’s not going to go away. I’m happy that I went through.”
Former world number one Ana Ivanovic was sent spinning out with a 6-2 7-6 (7/0) defeat to unseeded Czech Petra Cetkovska.
Sixth seed and last year's French Open winner Francesca Schiavone was bundled out by Austria Tamira Paszek, losing the deciding set 11-9.