WIMBLEDON, England — Serena Williams has been known to say she isn't satisfied with this or that aspect of her game, even after easily winning, say, 6-3, 6-2.
So it was somehow refreshing to hear Williams praise herself after a victory by that score over 26th-seeded Maria Kirilenko at Wimbledon on Saturday.
Yes, only five matches since returning to the tour after nearly a full year off because of a series of health scares, Williams produced a performance worthy of the 13-time Grand Slam champion she is. After hitting 10 aces and compiling a 32-9 edge in winners, Williams termed her showing the "best I've played since I came back."
"I was a little more consistent, and I played my game more," said Williams, trying to become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1991-93 to win three consecutive Wimbledon titles. "Wasn't as tight and nervous and uptight. I was able to relax more today."
She was part of a parade of past champions who breezed into the fourth round. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova were straight-set winners, too. Top-seeded woman Caroline Wozniacki, seeking her first Grand Slam title, and two-time Australian Open men's champion Novak Djokovic, who is 44-1 in 2011, also moved on.
No. 10 Mardy Fish, a Tampa resident, advanced to face No. 6 Tomas Berdych. Fish moved on when Robin Haase retired in the fourth set with a leg, back and knee ailments.
"It's lonely," said Fish, the last American man in the field. "It doesn't feel great. … You know, I want the guys here."
There were two upsets of some significance.
Robin Soderling, seeded fifth, was dealing with stomach problems and bowed out against 158th-ranked Bernard Tomic 6-1, 6-4, 7-5. Tomic is the first 18-year-old to reach the men's fourth round at Wimbledon since Michael Chang and Goran Ivanisevic in 1990.
"I was very calm, but inside I was bursting. I tried not to show it to him. He was getting a bit frustrated," Tomic said.
No. 9 Gael Monfils lost to 93rd-ranked Lukasz Kubot of Poland 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Kubot is the first man from Poland to make it this far at Wimbledon since Wojtek Fibak in 1981.
Men, Singles, Third Round — Tomas Berdych (6), Czech Republic, d. Alex Bogomolov Jr., U.S., 6-2, 6-4, 6-3; Rafael Nadal (1), Spain, d. Gilles Muller, Luxembourg, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 6-0; Mardy Fish (10), U.S., d. Robin Haase, Netherlands, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 1-1, retired; Juan Martin del Potro (24), Argentina, d. Gilles Simon (15), France, 7-6 (8), 7-6 (5), 7-5; Lukasz Kubot, Poland, d. Gael Monfils (9), France, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3; Roger Federer (3), Switzerland, d. David Nalbandian (28), Argentina, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4; Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12), France, d. Fernando Gonzalez, Chile, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3; David Ferrer (7), Spain, d. Karol Beck, Slovakia, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3; Bernard Tomic, Australia, d. Robin Soderling (5), Sweden, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5; Michael Llodra (19), France, d. Yen-hsun Lu, Taiwan, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1; Mikhail Youzhny (18), Russia, d. Nicolas Almagro (16), Spain, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-3; Xavier Malisse, Belgium, d. Jurgen Melzer (11), Austria, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-0; Novak Djokovic (2), Serbia, d. Marcos Baghdatis (32), Cyprus, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Women, Singles, Third Round — Caroline Wozniacki (1), Denmark, d. Jarmila Gajdosova (27), Australia, 6-3, 6-2; Maria Sharapova (5), Russia, d. Klara Zakopalova, Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-3; Dominika Cibulkova (24), Slovakia, d. Julia Goerges (16), Ger., 6-4, 1-6, 6-3; Peng Shuai (20), China, d. Melinda Czink, Hungary, 6-2, 7-6 (5); Marion Bartoli (9), France, d. Flavia Pennetta (21), Italy, 5-7, 6-4, 9-7; Petra Cetkovska, Czech Republic, d. Ana Ivanovic (18), Serbia, 6-3, 7-6 (0); Sabine Lisicki, Ger., d. Misaki Doi, Japan, 6-4, 6-2; Serena Williams (7), U.S., d. Maria Kirilenko (26), Russia, 6-3, 6-2; Tamira Paszek, Austria, d. Francesca Schiavone (6), Italy, 3-6, 6-4, 11-9.
Men, Doubles, Second Round — Christopher Kas, Ger., and Alexander Peya, Austria, d. Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares (13), Brazil, 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-4, 6-2; Robert Lindstedt, Sweden, and Horia Tecau (8), Romania, d. Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut, France, 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (4); Arnaud Clement, France, and Lukas Dlouhy, Czech Republic, d. Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes (3), India, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1), 6-4; Juan Ignacio Chela and Eduardo Schwank (12), Argentina, d. Matthias Bachinger and Frank Moser, Ger., 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 6-7 (6), 6-3; James Cerretani, U.S., and Philipp Marx, Ger., d. Daniele Bracciali, Italy, and Frantisek Cermak (16), Czech Republic, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5), 6-4; Kevin Anderson, South Africa, and Julian Knowle, Austria, d. Max Mirnyi, Belarus, and Daniel Nestor (2), Canada, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (7), 6-3; Wesley Moodie, South Africa, and Dick Norman (11), Belgium, d. Jamie Delgado and Jonathan Marray, Britain, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-2.
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