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.