London: Maria Sharapova saw off a late comeback to reach the Wimbledon fourth round with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu yesterday.
The fourth seed and 2004 champion won the key points in the first set and saw off some last-ditch resistance in the second to book her place in last 16.
Serena Williams set up a titanic fourth round showdown with sister Venus as the world number one staged a dramatic final set fightback to beat Britain’s Heather Watson 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.
Williams, bidding for a sixth Wimbledon title and a calendar Grand Slam, was on the brink of a humiliating third round exit when Watson served for the match at 5-4 in the final set.
But Serena, who had trailed 3-0 in the decider, showed why she has won 20 Grand Slam titles as she broke back before finally sealing an epic escape in two hours and 14 minutes in front of an enthralled 15,000-strong crowd on Centre Court.
Serena’s 53 winners and 13 aces were just enough overcome her 33 unforced errors in the match of the tournament to date.
“I’ve had some tough losses but that was probably my toughest match, playing Heather in front of her home crowd,” Williams said.
“She played unbelievable and really I think she should have won the match.
“She was up two breaks and she just really gave her all and showed us what a great player she is.”
The 33-year-old American will face 16th seed Venus on Monday for the first time in a Grand Slam since beating her in the 2009 Wimbledon final. The sisters’ last meeting came in 2014 when Venus won in Montreal, but Serena holds a 14-11 advantage over the 35-year-old in their career head to head.
They have clashed five times previously at Wimbledon, with Serena winning three times and Venus twice.
Coco Vandeweghe, one of six American women in the third round, reached the last 16 at a Slam for the first time with a 6-2, 6-0 win over 2011 US Open champion Sam Stosur of Australia.
It was a second Grand Slam win of the season for world number 47 Vandeweghe against Stosur after also coming out on top at the Australian Open in January.
Stosur has yet to get beyond the third round at Wimbledon in 13 years of trying.
Vandeweghe will next face Czech sixth seed Lucie Safarova, who beat Sloane Stephens of the United States 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Teenager Belinda Bencic became the first Swiss woman into the fourth round since Patty Schnyder in 2007 when she defeated American qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands 7-5, 7-5.
Fresh from her first career title at Eastbourne last week, the 18-year-old 30th seed, revitalised after a medical time-out following the fifth game, came back from 5-1 down in the first set.
Former world number one and two-time semi-finalist Victoria Azarenka made the last 16 with a 6-4, 6-4 win over France’s Kristina Mladenovic and next faces Bencic.