In a tournament where every day has seen upsets of grand proportion, Day Seven, the first day of the second week of Wimbledon 2018, and the scene of round of sixteen matches, saw almost all results go to the favourites.
The rest day must have put some sanity into the proceedings which resulted in the following:
Ladies round of sixteen
Angie Kerber (11), 2015 finalist, firmed as the favourite from the top half of the draw to reach another final after her win over Belinda Bencic 6-3 7-6(5).
Currently Angie sits at 9 in the live rankings - she will move to 4 if she wins the tournament.
Now fully fit, Belinda has moved back into the top fifty, with encouragement from her efforts here to eventually return to the top ten.
Kerber will have a quarter final meeting with Daria Kasatkina (14) who ended the hopes of Alison Van Uytvanck after dropping the opening set in a tie break. The Russian won 6-7(6) 6-3 6-2
Kasatkina could also move into the top five if she wins the title.
Van Uytvanck will move to 39 in the rankings, a new career high.
Jelena Ostapenko (12) defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich in two sets, the first in a tie break, the second a whitewash, 7-6(4) 6-0.
Sasnovich moves to a new career high of 40, while Ostapenko can move back into the top ten if she keeps on winning.
Jelena will have to first defeat Dominika Cibulková in the quarter finals following the Slovakian’s win over Su-Wei Hsieh 6-4 6-1
Cibulková and Ostapenko have both yet to drop a set this tournament, so this will be a top drawer contest.
Kiki Bertens (20) knocked out the last top ten seed left in the draw, Karolina Pliskova (7), 6-3 7-6(1). That is two top ten scalps in a row for Kiki, after her win against last years finalist Venus Williams (9).
Not bad for a confessed clay courter who had never passed the third round here, or at any Grand Slam tournament, except Roland Garros.
Kiki will face Julia Goerges (13) in the quarter finals.
Julia defeated Donna Vekic 6-3 6-2 and for the moment is back in the top ten. That could all change, maybe for the better with continued success. This is the first quarter final for Julia at any major, her previous best being fourth rounds at the Australian Open in 2012-13 and 2015, at Roland Garros in 2015, and at last years US Open.
Serena Williams (25) defeated Evgeniya Rodina 6-2 6-2 in ruthless fashion, to join Ostapenko and Cibulková as the only players left to have not dropped a set this Wimbledon.
Rodina has done a remarkable job, winning three matches through qualifying to even make the main draw, then to win another three to reach the final 16.
However not many could have stood the Serena tsunami that arrived on Centre Court today.
The next hurdle for Serena will be Camila Giorgi who eliminated Ekaterina Makarova 6-3 6-4
Giorgi made the fourth round here in 2012, and the following year the fourth round at the US Open, but she has never passed the third round in a major since.
Her performance this Wimbledon moves her ranking up 18 spots back into the top fifty to 34, closing in on her career high of 30.
Giorgi has had more wins than losses against top ten players, but Serena Williams represents a contest of mammoth proportions and something extraordinary will need to occur for Camila to make the semis.
Quarter Finals
Dominika Cibulková v Jelena Ostapenko (12)
Daria Kasatkina (14) v Angie Kerber (11)
Kiki Bertens (20) v Julia Goerges (13)
Serena Williams (25) v Camila Giorgi
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