The 37-year-old breezed past the world number 31, winning 6-2, 6-2. This sets up an all-American quarterfinal against Alison Riske, who shocked world number one Ashleigh Barty in three sets.
Up until last week, Williams had played just 12 times this year because of a series of injury problems, but her progress at Wimbledon—where she has also reached the second round of the mixed doubles tournament alongside Andy Murray—is proving to be the perfect tonic.
“I literally can’t even tell you how much better I feel,” Williams said in a post-match interview. “That’s a relief. That’s a victory in itself, to know that I’m feeling better no matter what. I’m on the right path. I finally found the solution. I can be strong for the rest of the year.”
The 23-time Grand Slam-winner is likely to face a much harder test against Riske, who has won 14 of her last 15 on grass.
On Monday, the world number 55 beat Barty 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 as the Australian became the last tournament seed to tumble.
Simona Halep, the world number seven, is now the highest-seeded player left in the women’s tournament, followed by Elina Svitolina and Williams, the eighth and 11TH seeds respectively.
Halep, a former world number one, beat Coco Gauff in straight sets to end the teenager’s Wimbledon fairy tale and will now faceChina’s Shuai Zhang on Court One on Tuesday.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the quarterfinals.
Quarterfinals start time
The women’s quarterfinals get underway at 1 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET), with Serena Williams taking on Alison Riske on Centre Court.
Meanwhile, Simona Halep faces China’s Shuai Zhang on Court One at the same time.
TV channel
The tournament is broadcast exclusively across ESPN channels, with coverage beginning at 8 a.m. ET on Tuesday on both ESPN and ESPN2, ending at 4 p.m. on the former and at 2 p.m. on the latter.
Live stream
Fans can watch the action online via the WatchESPN app and on ESPN.com.
Quarterfinals full schedule
The other two quarterfinals in the women’s tournament see number 19 seed Johanna Konta take on Czech qualifier Barbora Strycova on Centre Court, while fellow Czech Karolina Muchova faces eighth-seeded Elina Svitolina on Court One.
On Monday. Konta defeated world number six and 2014 Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. She is now one win away from reaching a second semifinal in three years at the All England Club.
Before she can dream of becoming the first British woman to win at Wimbledon since Virginia Wade triumphed in 1977, Konta must negotiate what could be a tricky quarterfinal against Strycova.
The 33-year-old defeated number 21 seed Elise Mertens in three sets on Monday. She beat Konta in their only previous career meeting, winning in straight sets on hard court in Tokyo in 2007.
“She’s a very crafty player,” Konta was quoted as saying by the BBC. “She knows how to mix up the game. She knows how to play on this surface.
“To know […] that I have the capability to stay there as long as I need to for however long, even if losing the first set, I know I have every opportunity to get back into the match.”
The other quarterfinal, meanwhile, features two players who have never made it so far at Wimbledon. Svitolina’s best result in South West London was reaching the fourth round in 2017, while Muchova is making her Wimbledon debut. Neither has ever reached the semifinal of a Grand Slam tournament.
The Ukrainian beat number 24 seed Petra Matic 6-4,6-2, while Muchova beat fellow Czech and world number three Karolina Pliskova 4-6, 7-5, 13-11 after a marathon lasting three hours and 17 minutes.
