Women's upsets mark Day 6 at Wimbledon
Last Updated: Saturday, June 27, 2009 | 4:42 PM ET
CBC Sports
American teen Melanie Oudin surprised Jelena Jankovic at Wimbledon on Saturday. (Alastair Grant/Associated Press)Venus Williams of the United States continued her quest for a third consecutive Wimbledon singles title on Saturday with a straight-sets victory on a day when top players Jelena Jankovic or Svetlana Kuznetsova were eliminated from her path to another championship.
Williams won by a score of 6-0, 6-4 over the Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain. Suarez Navarro had a chance to force a third set, but had her serve broken with the score 4-4 in the second set.
Williams, seeded third, is looking for her sixth career Wimbledon singles championship. She advances to the round of 16 having not lost in her last 29 sets at the tournament.
She will next play Monday against Ana Ivanovic of Serbia. Ivanovic, seeded 12th after a series of disappointing performances over the last several months, defeated Australia's Sam Stosur 7-5, 6-2.
Jankovic of Serbia lost to American qualifier Melanie Oudin. The 17-year-old Oudin beat the No. 6 seed 6-7, 7-5, 6-2.
Oudin turned pro in 2008 and lost in the first round at the U.S. and Australian Opens but knocked off the woman who was ranked No. 1 in the world just a few months ago.
"I was just thinking that she was any other player, and this was any other match, and I was at any other tournament — not like on the biggest stage at Wimbledon," said Oudin. "I think I handled it really well."
Jankovic had difficulty in the 28 C weather, requiring ice and a doctor's visit between the first and second sets.
No. 5 Kuznetsova, the French Open champ earlier this month, was dumped 6-2, 7-5 by German teen Sabine Lisicki.
Lisicki next meets No. 9 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, who set aside No. 20 Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-2, 6-2.
Lisicki, 19, hadn't advanced past the third round in six previous Grand Slam appearances.
"Before I came into this Wimbledon championships, I hadn't won, actually, a match on grass," she said. "I just can't believe I'm in the fourth round."
Top seed Dinara Safina of Russia was a 7-5, 6-1 winner over Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium. She will play an appealing matchup against 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo.
Mauresmo of France, seeded 17th, topped Flavia Pennetta of Italy 7-5, 6-3.
Good day for Czech mates
Andy Murray of Scotland thrilled the Centre Court gathering late in the day by blitzing Viktor Troicki 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.
The third-seeded Murray will next meet Stanislaw Wawrinka. The No. 19 Austrian player was a 5-7, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 victor over Jesse Levine of the U.S.
American Andy Roddick fired 32 aces en route to beating Jurgen Melzer of Germany, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-3.
Frequent doubles partners Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic both pulled off mild upsets in singles play. No. 20 Berdych pasted 12th seed Nikolay Davydenko of Russia 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, while No. 23 Stepanek prevailed 7-5, 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4 over No. 16 David Ferrer of Spain.
Berdych is now paired with Roddick, while Stepanek faces 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt. The Australian reached the fourth round at Wimbledon for the sixth year in a row by beating German Philipp Petzschner 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-3.
A pair of matches suspended due to darkness Friday were completed. Russian Igor Andreev, the No. 9 seed, completed a 6-1, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (5) victory over Andreas Seppi of Italy.
No. 24 Tommy Haas of Germany completed a marathon match that began a day earlier, winning over No. 11 Marin Cilic of Croatia 7-5, 7-5, 1-6, 6-7 (3), 10-8. Haas and Andreev will play in the next round.
No. 9 Gilles Simon of France was impressive in beating Romania's Victor Hanescu 6-2, 7-5, 6-2.
Simon will take on Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero, who scored a minor upset with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win over No. 10 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile.
The new retractable roof on Centre Court was finally utilized, but only after the Murray-Troicki match was complete.
The pleasant weather has resulted in play staying on schedule, with no matches scheduled for Sunday.
With files from The Associated Press
