London (AFP) – Dominika Cibulkova could be forced to postpone her wedding after a shock Wimbledon win over world number three Agnieszka Radwanska, while Serena and Venus Williams marched into the quarter-finals on Monday.
Cibulkova is due to marry fiance Miso Navara in her hometown of Bratislava on Saturday.
But the confetti and wedding cake might be put on hold because the Slovakian 19th seed has advanced to the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a 6-3, 5-7, 9-7 victory against Radwanska.
When the 27-year-old planned the wedding nine months ago, she considered her wretched record at Wimbledon, where she had lost by the third round seven times, as solid evidence she wouldn’t still be involved on July 9 — the day of the women’s final.
With little time before she is due to say her wedding vows, Cibulkova has decided the walk down the aisle will have to wait if she defeats Russian world number 50 Elena Vesnina in Tuesday’s quarter-finals.
“If I win on Tuesday, then we will change it. We will postpone it because it will be a lot of rush,” Cibulkova said.
“It was just when I was in an ice bath after the match, I said to my team, ‘Okay, now it’s getting more serious’.
“It’s no problem. We chose this date because I never saw myself as such a great grass court player.”
Maintaining the matrimonial theme, Vesnina won 5-7, 6-1, 9-7 against compatriot Ekaterina Makarova, who is her long-term doubles partner and was a bridesmaid at her wedding last year.
Meanwhile, Serena powered into her 12th Wimbledon quarter-final as the defending champion celebrated the United States’ Independence Day with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Russian 13th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.
World number one Williams hit 43 winners and served 14 aces as she won the last nine games on Centre Court to remain on course for a record-equalling 22nd major title and a seventh Wimbledon crown.
– Double delight –
“She has played really well against me in the past and she beat me earlier this year so I know that I had to play really well to win this,” Williams said of the Kuznetsova clash.
“It was really tricky out there because even though it wasn’t raining hard, it was dewy on the grass and you can fall really easy.”
The 34-year-old, an eight-time Wimbledon finalist, will play Russian 21st seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Coco Vandeweghe of the United States, for a place in the semi-finals.
Venus Williams became the oldest Wimbledon women’s quarter-finalist for 22 years as the five-time champion defeated Spanish 12th seed Carla Suarez Navarro 7-6 (7/3), 6-4.
Aged 36, Williams is the oldest to make the last eight since 37-year-old Martina Navratilova’s run to the final in 1994.
Williams will be making her 12th appearance in the last eight at Wimbledon, and her first since 2010, when she faces Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over Czech 28th seed Lucie Safarova, for a place in the semi-finals.
“Am I surprising myself? The first time you win nobody picks you and the last time you win nobody picks you. You always have to believe in yourself,” Venus said.
The double delight for the Williams family means it is the first time since 1999 that more than one woman aged 30 or over has reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
Elsewhere, German fourth seed Angelique Kerber cruised into her third Wimbledon quarter-final with a 6-3, 6-1 thrashing of Japanese world number 49 Misaki Doi.
Kerber, who won her maiden Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open in January, has yet to drop a set in four matches.
“I’m feeling my tennis is getting better and better every day. This is what counts in the second week of a Grand Slam,” Kerber said.
Kerber plays Romania’s Simona Halep, who fought back to reach her second Wimbledon quarter-final with a 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-3 win against American ninth seed Madison Keys.
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