America's Serena Williams beat Russian Evgeniya Rodina in straight sets in the round of 16 at Wimbledon 2018 Monday at the All England Club in London. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI |
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July 9 (UPI) -- No. 25 seed Serena Williams clinched a spot in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon 2018 by beating Russian Evgeniya Rodina in straight sets Monday in London.
Williams moves onto the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the 13th time in her decorated tennis tenure. She is also looking to win her 24th Grand Slam, which would tie the all-time record (men's or women's) set by Margaret Court.
The No. 181 player in the Women's Tennis Association's world rankings beat Rodina (No. 120) 6-2, 6-2 on center court at the All England Club. Williams faces Italy's Camila Giorgi in the quarterfinals at 7 a.m. Tuesday at the All England Club.
"I thought it was a good scoreline," Williams told the BBC after the match. "But it was tougher than the scoreline to be honest. She can really hit the ball well."
Dominika Cibulkova faces Jelena Ostapenko, Daria Kasatkina battles Angelique Kerber, and Kiki Bertens plays Julia Goerges in the other quarterfinal clashes. Williams is the only remaining American in the women's singles bracket.
John Isner is the only remaining American in the men's bracket. The No. 9 seed beat Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in three sets Monday in London.
None of the top 10 women's seeds remain in the tournament. Kerber (No. 11) is the highest remaining seed, followed by the No. 12 Ostapenko, No. 13 Goerges, No. 14 Kasatkina, No. 20 Bertens and No. 25 Williams.
The winner of the Williams and Giorgi match battles Bertens or Goerges in the semifinals. Williams is 3-0 against Giorgi in the singles format. All of those wins came in straight sets, with her last victory coming in the round of 128 at the 2016 Australian Open.