Serena Williams, Sharapova Head To Third Round At Wimbledon
Published on July 2 2015 6:22 am
Last Updated on July 2 2015 6:22 am
LONDON -- Two down, five to go. Serena Williams won again at Wimbledon on Wednesday, advancing to the third round as she tries to win a calendar-year Grand Slam.
Williams beat Timea Babos 6-4, 6-1 on Centre Court. The 20-time major champion has already won the Australian Open and the French Open this year. If she can win the last two majors, she would become the first player to win a true Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988.
"Obviously [the Grand Slam] is on my mind, but I would have to win in a really tough draw here, and I would have to win the Open," Williams said. "That's not really easy. You know, obviously it's something I want to do. But at the end of the day, there's a reason it's rarely done."
Two more wins, and Serena will meet sister Venus in Wimbledon's fourth round.
"She poses a big threat for me," Serena said.
Serena's next opponent is Heather Watson, Britain's No. 1 player.
Maria Sharapova also made her way into the third round, two years after losing at the same stage.
The fourth-seeded Sharapova beat Dutch qualifier Richel Hogenkamp 6-3, 6-1 on Court No. 2 to improve her record in second-round Grand Slam matches to 41-4.
Down a break at 3-1 in the first set, defending champion Novak Djokovic came to life and reasserted his dominance on a sweltering day at Wimbledon.
Running off 13 points in a row, Djokovic seized command and stayed in front the rest of the way on Centre Court as he beat Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday to reach the third round of Wimbledon on the hottest day ever at the All England Club.
An apparent electrical fire caused the evacuation of Centre Court and all adjacent areas Wednesday night after a fire alarm sounded off at the All England Club. There were no visible flames, but the London Fire Brigade was called to the scene.
"We can confirm that the Centre Court building has been evacuated due to a suspected electric fire, and the Fire Brigade are on site," officials at the All England Club said.
