Wimbledon: Co-favorite Serena Williams continues to hold herself harmless

Superstar Serena Williams also held herself harmless in Wimbledon in round three. The American, who is at the grass major for the first time since the end of her baby break, won her third match on her return to London against Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 7-6 (7-2).

The next opponent of the 36-year-old is now the Russian qualifier Yevgenia Rodina. It took Williams 1’49” to beat Mladenovic.

In the first two rounds, the record Grand Slam winner had already beaten the Bulgarian Wiktorija Tomowa and the Dutch Arantxa Rus in two sets each. The winner of 2015 and 2016 won 17 matches in a row in Wimbledon.

Williams had already made her comeback at Grand Slam level at the French Open at the end of May. After three wins in the first rounds, the 23-time major winner had withdrawn before her round of 16 match against her Russian rival Maria Sharapova due to a chest muscle injury.