Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams has battled through to the fourth round with victory over Japan’s Naomi Osaka.
The 37-year-old, who won her first SW19 crown in 2000, overcame her powerful teenage opponent 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 on Court One.
And with the women’s draw now wide open, the elder sister of defending champion Serena may just fancy her chances of a first title since 2008.
Williams slipped on the baseline early on – a worry with the condition of the Wimbledon courts under scrutiny – but thankfully got straight back up and promptly secured the first break to lead 3-1.
Williams overpowered the youngster in a tie-break, coming from 3-0 down with seven unanswered points.
She then secured a break chasing down a lost cause on the baseline that a player half her age would have struggled to reach, forcing the error from Osaka.
Osaka bravely won her service game to stay in the match but Williams completed the job with an ace to keep herself in the running for title No.6.
New mother Victoria Azarenka reached the last 16 with a nerve-jangling 3-6 6-1 6-4 win over home favourite Heather Watson.
Azarenka, the former world No.1 who is returning to tennis after the birth of her son in December, was stung into action after Watson had ridden a patriotic wave to the first set.
Despite throwing in three double-faults to Watson’s one, she broke twice to win the second and set up a decider.
Watson kicked off the third set serving, and pushed her nose in front. The Briton was finding it tough to hold, though, while Azarenka breezed through her service games.
The Belarussian clinched a break in a 10-minute seventh game, but Watson hit straight back to level it 4-4 and set off a roar within the arena. But it was only a temporary reprieve, as Azarenka punched straight back before serving out.
“I really stepped up in the key moments,” she said.
Azarenka will play second-seeded Romanian Simona Halep for a place in the quarters.
Halep’s French Open conqueror Jelena Ostapenko advanced with a straight-sets win over Italy’s Camila Giorgi, while British hope Johanna Konta made light work of Greece’s Maria Sakkari in a 6-4 6-1 win.
Fourth seed Elina Svitolina held off a second-set fightback from Germany’s Carina Witthoeft to move through to the last 16 with a 6-1 7-5 win.
