LONDON: Top seed Roger Federer needed just 16 minutes to win the opening set in a 6-0, 7-5, 6-4 defeat of France’s Adrian Mannarino to reach his 16th Wimbledon quarter-final, while Karolina Pliskova became the last top women’s 10 seed to crash out on Monday.

Federer, 36, has now won 32 consecutive sets at Wimbledon, just two behind his record set from the third round in 2005 to his title triumph in 2006.

Meanwhile, Serena Williams — the seven-time champion — underlined her status as the women’s title favourite with a 62-minute demolition of Russian qualifier Evgeniya Rodina as the American raced into her 13th Wimbledon quarter-final by winning 6-2, 6-2 in a Centre Court masterclass.

Williams, who won the Wimbledon title on her last two visits in 2015 and 2016, is now on an 18-match winning streak at the All England Club.

Having missed Wimbledon last year while she prepared to have her first child, Serena is in pole position to win her first Grand Slam crown since becoming a mother.

But the 23-time major winner’s blistering form and a series of shock results have paved the way for another Williams coronation at Wimbledon.

Garbine Muguruza, Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki and Sloane Stephens have all been eliminated already.

Kiki Bertens took care of the last of the top 10 with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-1) victory over Czech seventh seed Pliskova.

It is the first time in Wimbledon history not one of the top 10 women’s seeds have reached the quarter-finals.

On Tuesday, Williams faces Italian world number 52 Camila Giorgi, who beat Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 6-4 to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final.

Giorgi, 26, had failed to get past the third round of a major since the 2013 US Open.

Bertens, who was contemplating retirement last year after losing her enthusiasm for the sport, is the first Dutch woman to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals since Michaella Krajicek in 2007.

Elsewhere in fourth round action, Dominika Cibulkova launched a scathing attack on Wimbledon’s officials after a line call controversy marred her 6-4, 6-1 win against Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-Wei.

Cibulkova was furious when Hsieh successfully persuaded the umpire to replay a point that was initially called in the Slovakian’s favour and would have given her three set points in the opening set.

Hsieh’s protests to the umpire prompted the match referee to come on court to intervene as the argument lasted over seven minutes before the point was finally replayed, much to Cibulkova’s disgust.

Monday’s results (prefix number denotes seeding):

Men’s singles:

Fourth round: 9-John Isner (US) bt 31-Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) 6-4, 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (7-4); 24-Kei Nishikori (Japan) bt Ernests Gulbis (Latvia) 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (12-10), 6-1; 1-Roger Federer (Switzerland) bt 22-Adrian Mannarino (France) 6-0, 7-5, 6-4; 13-Milos Raonic (Canada) bt Mackenzie McDonald (US) 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2.

Women’s singles:

Fourth round: Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) bt Hsieh Su-Wei (Taiwan) 6-4, 6-1; 12-Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) bt Aliaksandra Sasnovich (Belarus) 7-6 (7-4), 6-0; 14-Daria Kasatkina (Russia) bt Alison Van Uytvanck (Belgium) 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-2; 11-Angelique Kerber (Germany) bt Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5); 20-Kiki Bertens (Netherlands) bt 7-Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) 6-3, 7-6 (7-1); 13-Julia Goerges (Germany) bt Donna Vekic (Croatia) 6-3, 6-2; 25-Serena Williams (US) bt Evgeniya Rodina (Russia) 6-2, 6-2; Camila Giorgi (Italy) bt Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) 6-3, 6-4.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2018