Seventh seed Vera Zvonareva was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon because of an ankle injury, while other seeded players advanced on Day 5, except for Dominika Cibulkova and Marion Bartoli who were upset, and seed No.28 Sorana Cirstea who was defeated by seed No.8 Victoria Azarenka.

Russian Zvonareva was supposed to play seed No.26 Virginie Razzano in the third round, but the Frenchwoman got a walkover. The world No.7 Zvonareva was sidelined for eight weeks after injuring her ankle in a match against Razzano in April, but returned to play in the at Eastbourne this month.

Second seed Serena Williams became the first player to earn a spot in the second week of Wimbledon by blowing her unseeded Italian opponent away 6-3 6-4 and will face Daniela Hantuchova for a place in the quarterfinals. Fourth seed Elena Dementieva brushed aside fellow Russian Regina Kulikova 6-1 6-2 to move into the fourth round.

Seed No.14 Dominika Cibulkova lost to Elena Vesnina 7-5 4-6 6-4, while No.12 seed Marion Bartoli fell to Francesca Schiavone 7-6 (5) 6-0. (photo: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

Maria Sharapova was defeated after two rounds of Wimbledon for the second year in a row after falling to Gisela Dulko 6-2 3-6 6-4 at this year’s event.

Sharapova is ranked only 60th in the world, lower than Dulko who is No.45, but the Russian was seeded 24th at Wimbledon, privileged because of her status of a former champion, while Dulko was unseeded, so the Argentinean’s victory is an upset.

Sharapova won seven consecutive games during one stretch, and saved four match points in a 14-point final game, but hit one easy forehand long and fell on Dulko’s fifth match point.

Dulko had won only three games against Sharapova in their previous two meetings, but today she improved that stat and made Sharapova fall to 6-1 this year in three-set matches.

Dulko now faces another Russian in her next match, tenth seed Nadia Petrova.

Other notable results of day three include the defeat of the 2008 Wimbledon sensational semifinalist Zheng Jie, who fell to Daniela Hantuchova 6-3 7-5. Second seed Serena Williams lost only three games in her second-round match with Jarmila Groth. Eighth seed Victoria Azarenka double bageled Ioana Raluca Olaru, while seed No.14 Dominika Cibulkova and seed No.26 Virginie Razzano also progressed. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Five-time Wimbledon titlist and defending champion Venus Williams was as comfortable as ever on grass and saw off world No.97 Stefanie Voegele to reach the second round. Sixth seed Jelena Jankovic also progressed, with a 6-4 7-6(0) victory over Julia Goerges of Germany.

Third seed Williams defeated the 19-year-old Swiss 6-3 6-2 in 74 minutes. The American took control of the opening set after winning 14 straight points, and three breaks of Voegele's serve gave Williams the second set.

Jankovic stormed through the opening set in 45 minutes. In the second set Goerges took a 5-2 lead, but the Serb pulled level and raced away to win the tiebreak 7-0.

Jankovic’s grasscourt game is being helped by coach Chip Hooper. JJ didn't want to say whether Hooper will be her new coach, but she revealed that he's working on her serves and volleys.

Williams will next play Kateryna Bondarenko, while Jankovic’s next opponent will be Iveta Benesova. (photo via Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

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)

I got an e-mail from ESPN360.com, ESPN's live sports broadband network, and I decided to help them spread the word about their Wimbledon coverage.

ESPN360.com’s coverage of Wimbledon will take place from Monday, June 22 through Sunday, July 5, and they will be showing more of the Wimbledon tournament than ever before. The broadband service will have live coverage of up to 9 courts through the semifinals, totaling nearly 650 hours of live tennis.

ESPN360.com will also simulcast ESPN2's nearly 100 hours of coverage and will have the Wimbledon Finals events on-demand the morning following competition.

Prepare yourselves for the fortnight of tennis, it starts tomorrow!