
Martina Hingis, the 1997 Wimbledon champion, lost to Laura Granville of the United States 6-4, 6-2 on Court No. 2, known as the 8220;Graveyard of Champions8221;. Henin beat Williams in the French Open quarter finals, then went on to win her third straight title at Roland Garros. Williams, who had 27 winners and saved three break points today, won the Australian Open in January.
Justine Henin and Serena Williams moved closer to another Grand Slam quarter final, each easily advancing today to the fourth round at Wimbledon. Henin, trying to complete a career Grand Slam with a title at the All England Club, beat Elena Vesnina of Russia 6-1, 6-3. Williams defeated Milagros Sequera of Venezuela 6-1, 6-0 in 43 minutes.
The top-ranked Henin, who lost to Amelie Mauresmo in last year8217;s Wimbledon final, again played with a long strip of black tape running down the side of her right leg. She said she8217;s been bothered by tendinitis in her right foot. 8220;I could do very good things during my first three matches,8221; the Belgian said. 8220;Especially today, I8217;m very happy the way I played, very aggressive, very consistent.8221;
The match was suspended for more than an hour because of rain with Henin leading 3-2 in the second set. When play resumed, Henin broke in the eighth game and then served out the match. In three rounds so far at this year8217;s tournament, Henin has dropped only 11 games.
8220;It8217;s good I don8217;t spend a lot of time on the court because physically I really need to rest a little bit,8221; Henin said. 8220;It8217;s going to be good for my next match, I hope.8221;
Hingis, a five-time Grand Slam champion, returned to professional tennis in January 2006 after a three-year retirement. She reached the quarter finals at the Australian Open in January, and is ranked No. 11 by the WTA.
Granville is in the fourth round at Wimbledon for the second time in her career. She also won three matches in her debut in 2002.
No. 3 Jelena Jankovic, a French Open semi-finalist, rallied to beat Lucie Safarova 5-7, 7-6 7-4, 6-2, and No. 31 Michaella Krajicek upset No. 8 Anna Chakvetadze 7-6 10-8, 6-7 5-7, 6-2.
Jankovic double-faulted to lose the first set, and then was broken in the final game of the second set to send it to a tie-breaker. In the third set, which started after a 30-minute rain delay, the Serb broke Safarova in the sixth and eighth games.
8220;It was a big battle out there,8221; Jankovic said. 8220;At some point I was thinking, my God, is there any way out?8221; Krajicek, who had to wait through two rain delays to reach the fourth round, is the sister of 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek.
Also, No. 15 Patty Schnyder beat No. 24 Alona Bondarenko 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 and will next face Henin. No. 18 Marion Bartoli beat No. 16 Shahar Peer 6-3, 6-2. Janko Tipsarevic saved a match point before upsetting No. 5 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 8-6 in the men8217;s draw.
Gonzalez, the Australian Open runner-up, sent a backhand into the net at 30-40 in the 12th game of the fifth set. He was two points from winning on six occasions.
Former top-ranked player Juan Carlos Ferrero beat No. 9 James Blake of the US 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 7-4. No. 15 Ivan Ljubicic also lost, while No. 13 Tommy Haas advanced by beating No. 21 Dmitry Tursunov 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 7-5, 6-4.
Important results
Men8217;s singles
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga France bt Feliciano Lopez Spain 6-3, 7-6 7-4, 6-3; Richard Gasquet 12, France bt Edouard Roger-Vasselin France 6-3, 6-4, 6-2; Juan Carlos Ferrero 20, Spain bt James Blake 9, USA 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-67-4; Tommy Haas 13, Germany bt Dmitry Tursunov 21, Russia 1-6, 6-4, 7-67-5 6-4; Paul-Henri Mathieu France bt Ivan Ljubicic 15, Croatia 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3; Janko Tipsarevic Serbia beat Fernando Gonzalez 5, Chile 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 8-6
Women8217;s singles
Marion Bartoli 18, France bt Shahar Peer 16, Israel 6-3, 6-2; Michaella Krajicek 31, Netherlands bt Anna Chakvetadze 8, Russia 7-610-8 6-75-7 6-2; Jelena Jankovic 3, Serbia bt Lucie Safarova 25, Czech Republic 5-7 7-67-4 6-2; Patty Schnyder 15, Switzerland bt Alona Bondarenko 24, Ukraine 6-4, 3-6, 8-6; Justine Henin 1, Belgium bt Elena Vesnina Russia 6-1, 6-3; Daniela Hantuchova 10, Slovakia bt Katarina Srebotnik 19, Slovenia 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
Security beefed up
WIMBLEDON: Security at Wimbledon was increased today after British police thwarted an apparent terror attack in central London.
8220;All around the ground the security has been intensified,8221; Lawn Tennis Association chief executive Roger Draper told Radio Five Live. 8220;We are a high-profile event and the championships take security very seriously,8221; Draper said. 8220;This year in particular, everything has been tightened up for people out there.8221;
Police discovered a parked car in central London that was packed with gas containers and a large number of nails and a detonator. The attack would have caused 8220;significant injury or loss of life,8221; police said. Wimbledon is an outer suburb of London.