Serena Williams Restores Order on Day 4

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Serena Williams Restores Order on Day 4

By Chris Oddo

Serena Williams, Round Two, Wimbledon 2013

(June 27, 2013) -- Serena Williams restored a modicum of order in what has been an otherwise chaotic Wimbledon on Thursday, making relatively short work of Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia to win her 33rd consecutive match, 6-3, 6-2.

With the second and third seeds dropping out of the lower half of the draw on Wednesday (they're calling it "Black Wednesday," but in truth "Black-and-Blue Wednesday" might be a more apt title), Williams was keen to ensure that there were no slips or slip-ups in her second-round encounter with the World No. 100.

“A lot of players were losing,” Williams said of the wildest Wimbledon Wednesday in recent memory. “I thought, Definitely want to stay focused and stay serious. So that's what I did again yesterday. I was like, Okay, be on your toes and be ready for anything.”

Williams had to be on her toes from the start as Garcia tossed in a love hold and stayed even at 2-all, but things soon turned in the five-time Wimbledon champion's favor when she won eight consecutive points to take a 4-2 lead.

“I still feel like I'm trying to adjust a lot,” Williams said of her effort. “I feel like today I played a little better than my first-round match. I feel like I definitely had to play better. But I'm still adjusting.”

Williams, who served nine aces and cracked 30 winners on the afternoon, would need four set points to close out the first set.

Though it was competitive at times, the outcome was never in doubt thanks to Williams' world-class serve. She didn't face a break point on the afternoon, and lost only eight points on serve.

Is Williams affected by the shocking exits of Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova on Wednesday? Apparently not. “They're on different sides of the draw,” she said. “I have to focus on my match. I thought, you know, I just have to be focused on me more than anything.”

Williams will take on 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm in the third round. Date-Krumm became the oldest woman to reach the third round at Wimbledon by defeating Alexandra Catandu, 6-4, 7-5.

Having seen Date-Krumm nearly upset her sister two years ago in a classic match at Wimbledon, Williams knows a thing or two about the crafty Japanese woman. “Kimiko has great hand-eye coordination,” she said. “She returns unbelievable shots. Doesn't matter how hard you hit it, she sees the ball and gets it back. She has great hands, has a wonderful great volley, comes to the net a lot, which on grass can be tricky.”

(Photo Credit: Stephen White/CameraSport)