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Champion Venus Williams cranked up the power today to thunder into the fourth round of Wimbledon, beating Spanish qualifier Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-1 7-5.
The American, pursuing a fifth title at the All England Club, appeared to be in a hurry to join sister Serena in the last 16 and went about her task with ruthless efficiency.
Left hander Martinez Sanchez had taken a set off Venus Williams in their only previous meeting but during the first 17 minutes of their contest on Saturday it seemed she might be heading for a dreaded whitewash.
Williams raced into a 5-0 lead and, though her 101st ranked opponent briefly interrupted the run to win her first game, the 28-year-old American sealed the set with a 188 kph serve.
The Spaniard provided stiffer resistance in the second before Williams ended the match with her fastest delivery of the day, a 204 kph thunderbolt.
“I was very happy with the performance today,” said the seventh seed, who unleashed 11 aces during the 72-minute exhibition on Court One.
Luckily for Williams, though, reaching the second week here for the ninth time in 12 appearances did not depend on her ability to add up the numbers.
“I served well, I had nine aces so that always helps the cause,” she smiled.
As Williams headed for a fourth-round meeting with little-known Russian Alisa Kleybanova, the omens also looked good for her on Saturday.
Since 2000, the elder of the Williams sisters has reached the final at the grasscourt grand slam every time she has cleared the third-round hurdle.
Following the shock exits of top seed Ana Ivanovic and 2004 champion Maria Sharapova, Venus and Serena are now favourites to contest their third final at the All England Club on July 5.
On Saturday though, Venus was not thinking that far ahead.
She was caught on camera yawning as she waited to step on court but once the action began, it was Martinez Sanchez who was caught napping and within a blink of an eye, she had lost the first five games.
Her serve-and-volley tactics failed to make a dent in Williams’s game plan and the long-limbed American looked to be heading for an easy afternoon workout.
Williams, who has failed to win a title all season, banged away a string of crunching volleys and grass-cutting groundstrokes to establish a 4-2 lead in the second.
Martinez Sanchez, playing in the third round of a grand slam for the first time, briefly rallied to level at 4-4 but there was never any doubt about the outcome.
Williams’s final 204 kph (127mph) delivery was a shade slower than her personal record of 206 kph — achieved at the French Open last year — but she was still happy to round off the win in style.
“Yeah, 127’s a good way to end it,” she beamed.
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