Williams Survives Zheng Scare with Clutch Three-Set Victory

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Williams Survives Zheng Scare with Clutch Three-Set Victory

By Chris Oddo

Photo Credit: Clive Rose/Getty Images

(June 30, 2012)—Count Serena Williams out at your own peril. The 30-year-old sixth-seed marched into the second week of Wimbledon today with a performance that was at times dominating and at others bewildering.

The dominance is what we'll remember.

The 6-7(5), 6-2, 9-7 triumph over Zheng Jie of China places Williams in Wimbledon’s fourth-round alongside Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova.

Despite facing strong winds at times on Centre Court, both players served exceptionally. Only two breaks of serve occurred over the course of the two hour, thirty-eight-minute affair.

It was Williams, the four-time Wimbledon and thirteen-time Grand Slam champion, that would comandeer the breaks.

But not before losing a first-set tiebreaker to the feisty world No. 27.

In the second set, riding her booming serves to easy holds, Williams evened things quickly. The American broke for a 3-2 lead with a loud “C’mon,” then broke again for 5-2, before closing the 25-minute second set with yet another ruthless hold.

As they rolled into the decider, Zheng elevated her game, deploying a snappy supply of angled attacks from just inside the baseline to go with her accurate and effective first serves. The former Wimbledon semifinalist, who is 0 for 6 over her career against Williams, won an impressive 62 of 83 first serve points today.

But with Serena on her way to an ace count of 23, the 5'5" Zheng had her work cut out just to stay with Williams down the stretch. Still, she looked to be the better player many times as the third set lingered on.

Zheng’s greatest chance to break came in the fourth game of set three, when the 28-year-old Chinese found herself with a triple break point against the Williams serve. The window closed quickly, however, with a little help from Zheng’s nerves.

They marched on from there, each dealing quick points and quicker games on serve.

When Williams pitched love holds at 4-5, 5-6 and 6-7, it was clear that the Williams aura was back. Zheng responded with holds each time, and even knocked back two match points at 7-8, one with a winner punctuated by a scream, the other on a Williams’s error.

The third match point, however, proved to be Zheng's last stand.

Williams, one of only two remaining thirty-plus aged players in the draw (Italian Francesca Schiavone is the other), can now enjoy a restful middle Sunday with that familiar taste of winning on her toungue.

Shvedova Goes on a Tear Against Sara Errani

When word started circulating that unseeded Yaroslava Shvedova had accomplished the esoteric "golden set" against Sara Errani in the first set, one had to smile. What a rare thing to see. After Lukas Rosol's William Renshaw impersonation on Thursday we should have been ready for this.

USA Today's Doug Robson is reporting that the feat has been achieved only once by any player, male or female. That was in 1983, when Bill Scanlon turned the trick in Delray Beach, Florida.

29 years later, Yaroslava Shvedova joins Scanlon in obscure stat infamy. She won all 24 points in the first set against Sara Errani today on Court No. 3, hammering four aces and notching fourteen winners in the 15-minute set. The 57-minute 6-0, 6-4 victory earns Shvedova a date with Serena Williams in the round of 16 on Monday.

Things got even stranger when it was learned that Shvedova has been close to accomplishing the golden set before. In 2006, Shvedova won the first 23 points of a match in Memphis, before faltering at 5-0, 40-0.

This time she made it count.

Kvitova Sails Past Lepchenko

Petra Kvitova is playing like a Wimbledon champion again. Proving yet again that her domination of the lush, green Wimbledon lawns is not a fluke, Kvitova slashed her way to a 53-minute drubbing of American Varvara Lepchenko.

"I love to play on the grass, and here in Wimbledon," said Kvitova. "I feel confident on the court. I know that my serve can help me if I need it."

Actually, it was Kvitova's return game that really stood out today. The 22-year-old Czech won 22 of 35 points against Lepchenko's serve and broke 5 times in 7 opportinities.

The defending champ will face Francesca Schiavone in the round of 16, with a spot to possibly meet Serena Williams in the quarterfinals on the line. "She has a good slice from the backhand," Kvitova said of Schiavone. "She has a good volley so she will be aggressive and going to the net."