• Wimbledon, Day Seven

Venus and Serena crash out as Sharapova rolls on

ESPN staff
June 27, 2011
Serena Williams' bid to win a hat-trick of Wimbledon titles is over © PA Photos
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Venus Williams swiftly followed her sister Serena in suffering a shock exit after the pair both failed to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

Just moments after defending champion Serena Williams was sent crashing out at the hands of Marion Bartoli, Venus made her way onto Centre Court, where she was ousted for the second consecutive year by Tsvetana Pironkova.

The pair, who have won nine of the last 11 Wimbledon titles between them, suffered the first fourth-round defeats of their Wimbledon careers, leaving Maria Sharapova as the only previous champion left in the draw.

Bartoli, who had never previously taken a set off Williams in their two previous meetings, produced a gutsy performance of real stamina to outlast the American to claim a 6-3 7-6(6) victory. It is only the second time in 11 years that Williams, a four-time champion at the All England Club, has failed to reach the quarter-finals, but she was outlasted by a determined Bartoli.

Bartoli looked to have thrown away her chance after squandering three match points in the second set, but she dug deep to clinch a gruelling tiebreak to secure a quarter-final clash against German wildcard Sabine Lisicki, who continued her astonishing run with a 7-6(3) 6-1 win over Petra Cetkovska.

Meanwhile, Venus Williams was dumped out for the second consecutive year by little-known Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova 6-2 6-3. Pironkova, a surprise semi-finalist at the All England Club last year, pulled off another unlikely victory, sending the five-time champion packing by an identical scoreline. The Bulgarian will face another player who reached the last four in 2010 after Petra Kvitova raced past Yanina Wickmayer 6-0 6-2.

Marion Bartoli derailed defending champion Serena Williams © Getty Images
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With both Williams sisters out, the draw has opened up for 2004 champion Maria Sharapova, who brushed aside the challenge of Peng Shuai to reach her first quarter-final at Wimbledon for five years. The three-time grand slam champion did not drop her serve as she clinched a 6-4 6-2 victory to set up quarter-final clash against Dominika Cibulkova, who stunned world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.

Sharapova struggled to exert her authority in the opening stages as the Chinese No. 2 proved hard to break down, but the fifth seed finally found a way through, breaking to lead 5-4 when Peng could only find the net with a running forehand. Having sealed the opening set with an ace, Sharapova rode the crest of a wave into the second set, immediately breaking her opponent to put one foot in the quarter-finals.

The Russian threatened to run away with the match, but Peng rallied to hold, and saved match point on serve to force Sharapova to serve for the match, but it merely delayed the inevitable as the 2004 champion continued her impressive start to the tournament.

Wozniacki's quest for a maiden grand slam continues after the Dane was overhauled by the unseeded Slovakian Cibulkova. Wozniacki looked to be on course for a comfortable victory, but Cibulkova had other ideas, rallying for a 1-6 7-6(5) 7-5 victory.

Fourth seed Victoria Azarenka was the first player to book her place in the quarter-finals after racing past Nadia Petrova. The Belarusian broke her opponent five times as she wrapped up a 6-2 6-2 win in just 64 minutes. Next up for Azarenka is the unseeded Austrian Tamira Paszek, who beat Ksenia Pervak 6-2 2-6 6-3.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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