LONDON—Day Four at Wimbledon has offered up some exciting tennis action, with more to come.
Ragged Venus Beats Britain's Keothavong on Wimbledon Day Four
Champion Venus Williams scrambled past British number one Anne Keothavong at Wimbledon on Thursday, winning a ragged match 7-5 6-2 on Centre Court.
The 28-year-old, gunning for a fifth singles title at the grasscourt slam, found the net with alarming regularity in windy conditions and for long periods there was little evidence of the gulf in experience and class between the players.
Williams spent 69 painstaking minutes winning the first set against a player who had managed just two victories in eight attempts at Wimbledon, racking up an ugly 18 unforced errors.
The seventh-seeded American showed flashes of form in the second set as the battling Keothavong, the only British woman to gain entry into the main draw on merit, ran out of steam.
Keothavong double faulted at 2-5 to hand Williams match point and sealed victory when her 24-year-old opponent launched a forehand over the baseline.
Maria Martinez Sanchez Triumphs, Mirza Wilts in Wimbledon Second Round
Indian number one Sania Mirza's Wimbledon challenge fizzled out in the second round on Thursday when she was beaten 6-0 4-6 9-7 by Maria Martinez Sanchez on Thursday.Mirza, who had wrist surgery in April, had been expected to defeat Martinez Sanchez as the Spaniard had never won a match at the grasscourt grand slam until this week.
But with the 32nd seed spraying shots all around the court, it was Martinez Sanchez who made a storming start, racing to a 6-0 3-1 lead on a sun-baked Court 11.
Just when it looked as though the 21-year-old Indian would wilt in the heat, she reeled in the errors to steal the second set.
Trading pounding groundstrokes from the baseline, there was little to separate the duo in the decider. They went neck and neck until Martinez Sanchez pounced in the 15th game to earn the decisive break.
Holding her nerve, the 25-year-old Spaniard served out for victory to earn a third round date with defending champion Venus Williams.
The defeat ended Mirza's hopes of reaching the third round here for the first time.
Davenport Pulls Out of Wimbledon, Hints at Retirement
Former champion Lindsay Davenport hinted she could have played her last match at Wimbledon after she pulled out on Thursday with a right knee injury.The American, winner here in 1999, had been due to face Argentina's Gisela Dulko in the second round but after struggling with her knee in her opening match, she did not want to risk any further injury.
"After my match a couple days ago, I went to the hospital and did an MRI...it just showed I had some inflammation and some fluid behind the kneecap," said Davenport, who had her knee heavily strapped on court on Tuesday.
"It was just really inflamed and painful.
"Wanted to see how I pulled up today in warm-up. After warming up, I felt like I was about 25, maybe 30 percent. In a first, second round match, it's just not good enough.
"It's not going to get better the more I play on it.
"I feel like I want to be a hundred percent and have a chance to win, not just hope to get by one more round or one more set."
Asked if she would be back at Wimbledon in 2009, the 32-year-old said: "I guess not... I'm very shortsighted right now in my future, my goals.
"It's all about being a hundred percent for Beijing (Olympics). Really looking forward to that. Then New York. Then no plans."
After taking a year out to have a baby, Davenport returned to the tour last September.
She won her comeback event in Bali and tasted further success when she ended 2007 by capturing the title in Quebec City.
However, she has found the going much tougher this season.
She was sidelined for two months before arriving at the All England Club and admitted her body was slowly letting her down.
"There's no question I'm a little bit older and a little bit more fragile than some other players," said Davenport, who also triumphed at the U.S. Open in 1998 and at the Australian Open in 2000.
Despite the setback, Davenport was confident she would be fit by the time the Olympics begin on Aug 8.
"I came back for the Olympics and that was my number one goal. I still feel great about that," she said.
"The doctors are very confident that the inflammation will go away and the pain will subside with that.
"I'll give it another chance in New York and see what happens."
Sharapova Knocked Out in Second Round
Third seed Maria Sharapova was beaten 6-2 6-4 by fellow Russian Alla Kudryavtseva in the second round at Wimbledon on Thursday.
The defeat condemned the Russian 2004 champion to her earliest exit from the grasscourt grand slam.
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