Second seed Serena Williams and seed No.24 Maria Sharapova overcame hurdles to move into the second round of Wimbledon 2009.

Williams dominated the first set against Neuza Silva 6-1, but the Portuguese qualifier then lifted up her game, and aided by some errors by her opponent made a fine match of it in the second set, even though eventually losing to the 10-time Grand Slam champion 6-1 7-5. Williams has never lost in the first round of a Grand Slam, but was tested quite a bit by the world No.154 Silva, the first Portuguese to play on Centre Court, who was appearing in her first Grand Slam match.

Sharapova was playing Ukrainian qualifier Viktoriya Kutuzova, who established a 4-1 lead in the first set. The 2004 Wimbledon champion Sharapova almost leveled for 4-4, and despite missing that chance the Russian took four straight games from 3-5. The second set was not straightforward either, however, the player whose comeback from career-threatening shoulder injury everyone is observing eventually won the first-round match 7-5 6-4.

Williams will face Australia's Jarmila Groth for a place in the third round, while Sharapova will play Argentina's Gisela Dulko. (photos: Ralf Reinecke)

Some of the WTA Tour players dressed elegantly last night for the annual Ralph Lauren Sony Ericsson Pre-Wimbledon Party hosted by Richard Branson at The Roof Gardens.

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Second seed Serena Williams ended her 18-match Grand Slam winning streak by falling to seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals of the 2009 French Open.

Russia's Kuznetsova faced a set point serving at 5-6 in the first set, but she fought it off and eventually won the set. Despite being three points from defeat in the second set, Williams evened the match, and then took a 3-1 lead in the decider. Kuznetsova mounted the final comeback and broke serve in the last game to finally beat Williams 7-6(3) 5-7 7-5.

Williams was looking for her third successive Grand Slam title and the 11th of her career.

The 2004 US Open champion Kuznetsova, who has been my second favorite for the title, just after top seed Dinara Safina, will play Samantha Stosur in the semifinals. The 25-year-old Stosur has never won a Tour title, and will be playing in her first major semifinal. In the quarterfinals the Australian beat young Romanian phenomenon Sorana Cirstea 6-1 6-3.

The other semifinal will include Russian Dinara Safina and Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova. (source: AP, photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Second seed Serena Williams avoided the fate of her sister Venus, and recovered from being a set down to beat Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain 4-6 6-3 6-4 and move into the fourth round of the French Open.

The match was accompanied by one incident in the first set, because of which Williams called her opponent a cheat. Martinez Sanchez broke to lead 3-2, although the crucial point-winning shot appeared to rebound off her arm.

"The ball did touch her 100 percent on her arm. The rules of tennis are when the ball hits your body, then it's out of play […] She should have lost the point instead of cheating," said the ten-time Grand Slam champion Williams.

However, Martinez Sanchez insisted she was innocent.

"I put the racquet up. The ball was in and it was a point for me. It didn't hit me or my body. To say I'm a 'cheat' is stupid. I'm not going to comment on it."

Tenth seed Caroline Wozniacki lost to world No.41 Sorana Cirstea of Romania 7-6(3) 7-5. Wozniacki, who has recently become the first Danish WTA player to crack the Top 10, needed a medical time-out for a back problem when just two points from defeat.

Other notable third-round results of the day: Samantha Stosur upset Elena Dementieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova dispatched Melinda Czink 6-1 6-3, Jelena Jankovic stormed into the fourth round with a 6-1 6-1 crushing of Jarmila Groth, Victoria Azarenka defeated Carla Suarez Navarro 5-7 7-5 6-2, and Agnieszka Radwanska beat Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2 6-4. (source: AFP, photo: Stephane Martinache)

Second seed Serena Williams beat 133rd-ranked Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain 6-2 6-0 to move into the third round of Roland Garros. Jelena Dokic, whose comeback I enjoy following, had to retire against fourth seed Elena Dementieva because of a back injury.

Williams had a much easier time in the second round than in her first-round match when she needed nine match points to get through a three-setter. Interestingly, the American believes her game is much better now than when she won four consecutive Grand Slam titles in 2002-03.

The 'Serena Now' would definitely beat the 'Other Serena,' just in general. I'm older. I think I'm wiser. I think I'm just a more mature player. Back then, it was more nitty-gritty. And now it's more composed and planned-out playing.

Jelena Dokic progressed to the second round, and it’s very disappointing that she was forced to retire while leading by a set against Dementieva. Dokic left the court in floods of tears, after quitting with the score at 6-2 3-4 against. She appeared to pull something in her lower back at 2-2 in the second set.

Dementieva was full of sympathy for her distressed opponent and even said: "I didn't deserve to win this match." (sources: FOX Sports, Reuters; photos: Stephane Martinache)