Roger Federer reaches historic 17th Wimbledon 4th round appearance
Serena Williams cruises past Julia Goerges ahead of doubles debut with Andy Murray
Eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer earned his 350th career Grand Slam match win on Saturday at the All England Club, ousting Frenchman Lucas Pouille in three sets in a third-round matchup on Saturday in London.
The No. 3 ranked Swiss, seeded second at Wimbledon, took just more than two hours to beat Pouille 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (4) and become the first man in the Open Era to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon 17 times, breaking a tie with Jimmy Connors.
After the match, Federer told ESPN the achievement was "nice," but offered some perspective: "It's nice, but it's medium otherwise because I know back in amateur times, I know that playing all the slams, [it] was too far to travel some places and then also, the generation before me didn't play all the slams.
"I think especially in the last 20 years that everybody started to play all the slams but of course it's a nice number to achieve. I've really enjoyed my time at the slams. They've given me some of the most memorable, special moments on the tennis court. Of course, it's been nice winning that much."
WATCH | Federer reaches 350 Grand Slam wins milestone:
Federer hit 39 winners against Pouille and made just 14 unforced errors to advance to a fourth-round matchup against No. 17 seed Matteo Berrettini of Italy.
Berrettini earned his spot in the second week of play in a five-set thriller against No. 24 seed Diego Schwartzman, beating the Argentine 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2), 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
This will be the first matchup between Federer and Berrettini, who saved three match points in the fourth set to rally past Schwartzman in four hours and 19 minutes in what has been the longest match of the tournament so far.
Nadal breezes past Tsonga
Also Saturday, No. 3 seed Rafael Nadal of Spain breezed past Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 48 minutes.
"I played a solid match. I played a good quality of tennis. Honestly, I felt very comfortable this afternoon out there," said Nadal, who is going for his third Wimbledon singles title. "I think (in the) second round I played little bit better than the first round. Today I played better than in the second round."
WATCH | Nadal cruises by Tsonga:
Nadal next faces Portugal's Joao Sousa, who battled five sets before beating Britain's Daniel Evans 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. The 30-year-old Sousa, currently ranked No. 69, becomes the first Portuguese player in history to reach the Round of 16 at Wimbledon.
No. 8 seed Kei Nishikori of Japan ousted American Steve Johnson in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, and next faces Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin, who defeated No. 33 seed Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-5.
Tennys Sandgren, ranked 94th in the world, set up a fourth-round battle against fellow American Sam Querrey after Sandgren upset No. 12 seed Fabio Fognini of Italy, 6-3, 7-6 (12), 6-3. Querrey advanced by beating Australia's John Millman, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (8), 6-3.
Serena Williams cruises into 4th round
Serena Williams warmed up for her opening mixed doubles match at Wimbledon by reaching the fourth round in singles.
The seven-time singles champion, who was playing with partner Andy Murray at the All England Club later in the day, beat Julia Goerges for the second year in a row, eliminating the 18th-seeded German 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday.
WATCH | Serena takes down Julia Goerges:
"I wanted to play mixed because I've played not even 15 matches, or just about 15 matches, so far this year," Williams said. "So I thought it could really help me."
Williams and Murray were supposed to debut as a team on Friday, but that was postponed. The club decided to put the pair on Centre Court after Roger Federer completed a 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (4) win over Lucas Pouille.
Williams beat Goerges in the semifinals last year before losing to Angelique Kerber in the final. She will next face No. 30 Carla Suarez Navarro, who made it to the fourth round at Wimbledon for the third time by beating unseeded American Lauren Davis 6-3, 6-3.
Murray, who is limited to playing doubles at the moment as he returns from an operation for a hip replacement, lost in the men's doubles tournament on Saturday.
Barty on a roll
Top-ranked Ash Barty also made it through to the second week in singles, winning her 15th straight match. The French Open champion beat Harriet Dart 6-1, 6-1 and will next face Alison Riske of the United States.
WATCH | Barty dismisses Dart in straight sets:
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who a week ago wasn't even sure if she could hold a racket in her left hand, reached the fourth round at the grass-court Grand Slam for the first time since her last title at the All England Club in 2014, beating Magda Linette 6-3, 6-2 on No. 2 Court.
Kvitova, seeded sixth, broke her opponent three times while never giving Linette a chance to break back even once.
The 29-year-old left-hander from the Czech Republic was attacked in her own home in 2016, needing surgery on her playing arm. She reached the Australian Open final at the beginning of this year but then pulled out of the French Open with an injured left forearm.
She only decided to play at Wimbledon at the last minute.
"So far it's OK," Kvitova said. "I'm really glad that I can play my game without any pain."
Kvitova will next face Johanna Konta, who reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2017. The 19th-seeded Konta beat 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, her fourth victory over the American in four matches this year.
No. 21 Elise Mertens and Barbora Strycova also advanced.
With files from the Associated Press