SW34 is TENNIS.com's Wimbledon blog that will provide on-site news, insight and commentary about a pair of legendary 34-year-olds, Roger Federer and Serena Williams, as they look to once again triumph at the All England Club.

LONDON–World No. 1 Serena Williams returned to Centre Court on Manic Monday against a familiar colleague, Svetlana Kuznetsova. Taking no prisoners, especially after the roof closed, Williams moved into the quarterfinals with a near-flawless 7-5, 6-0 win.

“It was really good to win,” Williams said. “She has played really well again me in the past. And she beat me earlier this year, so I knew I had to play really well to win this.”

The two friendly colleagues have quite a history, with Williams leading their head to head 9-3. Kuznetsova knocked Williams out of Miami earlier this year with a 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-2 win, but Williams got her revenge soon after, taking out the Russian, 6-2, 6-0, in Rome. Despite their 12 career contests, they had never played each other at Wimbledon.

After saying she hoped to start off a little bit better, Williams went up a quick break for 3-1 in the first set. She hit her seventh ace of the match, yet still lost the game and her grip on the lead.

At 4-4 and break point for Kuznetsova, Williams fell to the ground in a dramatic split as a stray rain shower began. The roof remained open with Williams down 4-5, but she broke a passive Kuznetsova handily to get to 5-5. The Russian, a former world No. 2, has won two majors (the U.S. Open in 2004 and the French Open in 2009), but she didn’t push Williams hard enough on Monday, hitting just eight winners.

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Serena dominates after brief rain delay, ousts Kuznetsova in straights

Serena dominates after brief rain delay, ousts Kuznetsova in straights

Both players took their seats in defiance after Williams complained she was afraid of slipping on the increasingly wet grass. As if to prove her point, a ball boy slipped and fell while making a turn just outside the baseline.

While play continued on outside courts, Centre Court entered a player-induced rain delay.

“It was really tricky out there because even though it wasn’t raining hard, it was like a dewy [rain],” Williams said. “But it’s on the grass. You can fall really easy … Should I run for this shot or shouldn’t I, because I don’t necessarily want to fall. It became more of a difficulty because of that.”

Back on court with the roof closed, Williams held for 6-5, hitting her ninth ace. She then got a look at her first set point, which Kuznetsova saved with an aggressive serve and forehand, as if the 31-year-old realized her passive play was going to get her nowhere. Still, Williams pressed on to take the set 7-5 on her second set point.

Stepping on the gas, Williams raced to a 3-0 lead in the second, having won five straight games with the roof closed in less than 20 minutes. Williams was winning more than 70 percent of her first-serve points, and a covered roof helped to accentuate her biggest strength.

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Serena dominates after brief rain delay, ousts Kuznetsova in straights

Serena dominates after brief rain delay, ousts Kuznetsova in straights

While Williams had a pretty relaxing Middle Sunday—she played, but rolled past Annika Beck, 6-3, 6-0—Kuznetsova entered Monday’s contest with a lot more mileage, having beaten Sloane Stephens in an 8-6 third-set marathon.

Williams quickly made it eight games in a row (seven under the roof) to go up 5-0 with her 14th ace. Williams was unstoppable, hitting 42 winners and keeping her unforced errors way down (just 14). This is the type of tennis that Williams plays when she’s 100 percent focused, and it makes her virtually unbeatable. Since her extremely tricky three-setter against Christina McHale in the second round, the world has witnessed vintage, all-world Serena Williams.

She slammed two huge return winners on her way to winning the final game at love. The roof close proved incredibly costly for Kuznetsova, as Williams won every single game after the brief rain shower.

It marks Williams’ 12th Wimbledon quarterfinal. Earlier on Centre Court, fellow 34-year-old Roger Federer reached his 14th Wimbledon quarterfinal by taking out Steve Johnson in straight sets. Both Federer and Williams now have an 83-10 record at Wimbledon.

While Federer has benefited from a perfect day-on, day-off schedule, Williams has had to play three days in a row. The 21-time Grand Slam champion is taking it in stride.

“In fact, usually in order to win a tournament you have got to play the quarterfinals, semifinals and final back to back to back—that’s how I look at it,” Williams said. “I thought, ‘Serena you’ve done this over 70, 80 times.’ So for me it’s an easy transition.”

Williams next faces first-time quarterfinalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.