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| Serena Williams of USA salutes the crowd after her victory [GALLO/GETTY] |
Serena Williams walked onto Court 2 six minutes late for her match but otherwise remained right on schedule at Wimbledon, becoming the first player to earn a spot in the second week of the tournament when she beat Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-4.
As Vinci waited for her tardy opponent to arrive for their noon start, there was brief speculation Williams might be a no-show.
Once that ended, so did the prospect of an upset.
Williams said she was late heading to the court at the south end of the club because she was awaiting an escort.
"I thought someone was going to come get me,'' she said. "I was waiting and waiting. Finally I was like, 'OK, I think I'm just going to go out.' I'm used to someone coming and saying, 'OK, let's go.'''
The mixup didn't rattle Williams, who hit 10 aces and committed only 12 unforced errors to win for the 172nd time in 200 Grand Slam matches.
Sibling rivalry
The only other woman to play so many matches in major tournaments is her sister, five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams (219).
Over on Centre Court, where Roger Federer played Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, the new retractable roof remained open for a fifth consecutive day, despite a cloudy sky and rain in the forecast.
The roof was closed overnight because of forecasted rain but was opened back open by mid-morning.
The No. 2-seeded Williams used her penetrating strokes to push Vinci around the court.
One time the Italian scrambled to retrieve a shot in the corner several steps beyond the lines, then stood helpless as Williams hit a winner into the other corner.
Only briefly did Williams waver, with a series of misplays midway through the second set.
She squealed in anguish when a poor aim cost her a point at the net.
She squealed again when she double-faulted on break point. When she pulled a backhand wide to lose another game, she stomped the grass and said, "Ai-yi-yi.''
Serving at 4-3, she fell behind love-30, then hit three aces to hold.
Two games later, one final ace gave her the match, and she screamed, "Yes!''
Self criticism
"I don't think I played great today at all,'' Williams said. "I'm just glad to have gotten through it and go on to the next match.''
Williams' opponent in the round of 16 Monday will be Daniela Hantuchova, who beat Ai Sugiyama 6-4, 6-3. Williams is 6-1 against Hantuchova.
"She's such a smooth player,'' Williams said. "I have to make sure I don't rush myself, because she is playing well, and I think she's moving well. So I'm going to have to really bring a tough game.''
No. 7-seeded Vera Zvonareva, slowed by an ankle injury since April, pulled out before her match against No. 26 Virginie Razzano.
No. 4 Elena Dementieva, a semifinalist last year, beat qualifier Regina Kulikova 6-1, 6-2.
No. 13 Robin Soderling, this month's French Open runner-up to Federer, reached the fourth round by beating Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-4.
Soderling lost only three points on his first serve and never faced a break point.
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