LONDON, July 8: Garbine Muguruza and Svetlana Kuznetsova reached the fourth round at Wimbledon here on Saturday.
Muguruza beat Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-2 in the third round while Kuznetsova defeated Slovenia�s Polona Hercog 6-4, 6-0.
The 14th-seeded Muguruza played cleanly and finished with 18 winners and only 10 unforced errors. She did not drop a set this week.
Cirstea, a Romanian ranked 63rd, had made it to the third round when her previous opponent, American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, had to stop playing because she injured her knee during their match.
Three-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist Kuznetsova eased past Hercog in straight sets to secure her place in the fourth round.
On the other hand, Dudi Sela became the ninth man to retire from a match at this year�s Wimbledon tournament, stopping his third-round match against 13th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov while trailing 6-1, 6-1.
Sela called for a trainer after the first set. Seven players retired from their matches in the first round, and another in the second.
Dimitrov, a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2014, will next face either seven-time champion Roger Federer or Mischa Zverev.
Earlier, Andy Murray survived a scare from Fabio Fognini as the defending champion scraped his way into the last 16 along with title rival Rafael Nadal on Friday.
Murray didn�t have it all his own way against Fognini, but the World No. 1 eventually subdued the eccentric Italian 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 to secure a 10th successive appearance in the fourth round.
In a tetchy Centre Court clash, Murray complained about Fognini taking too long between points as the 28th seed, who was given a point penalty for a visible obscenity, shrugged off a mid-match injury to push the Scot to the brink.
Murray had to save five set points to avoid being forced into a deciding set, reeling off five successive games to secure his 105th win on grass and remain on course for a titanic semifinal showdown against Nadal.
The 30-year-old, who faces France�s Benoit Paire for a place in the quarterfinals, is bidding to become the first Briton to successfully defend a Grand Slam title since Fred Perry at Wimbledon from 1934-1936.
Having won his 10th French Open crown without dropping a set last month, Nadal has made the switch from clay to grass with ease.
His 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) win against Russian 30th seed Karen Khachanov equalled the Spaniard�s personal record of 28 successive sets won at Grand Slams, a blistering streak dating back to this year�s Australian Open final.
Nadal�s second and most recent Wimbledon title came in 2010 and the 15-time major winner hasn�t been past the fourth round for six years.
But World No. 2 Nadal is in formidable form heading into only his second fourth round tie in his last five visits to Wimbledon.
His opponent is 16th seed Gilles Muller, who defeated Aljaz Bedene 7-6 (7/4), 7-5, 6-4 to reach the last 16 for the first time at the age of 34.
In the women�s category, British sixth seed Johanna Konta showed why she is the new bookmakers� favourite for the title with a 6-4, 6-1 rout of Greek World No. 101 Maria Sakkari.
With two-time champion Petra Kvitova and third seed Karolina Pliskova eliminated, Konta hopes to become the first British woman to win Wimbledon since Virginia Wade in 1977.
French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko made the last 16 for the first time with a 7-5, 7-5 win against Camila Giorgi. � Agencies
