Wimbledon: Erakovic into doubles quarter finals

Kiwi Marina Erakovic and Thai partner Tamarine Tanasugarn have advanced to the ladies' doubles quarterfinals after a straight sets third round win this morning at Wimbledon.

The pair easily dispatched the tenth-seeded Czech combination of Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-2, 6-1.

Today's win has earned Erakovic and Tanasugarn their first quarterfinals berth as a duo in a grand slam.

The New Zealander last reached the quarterfinals of a grand slam at the US Open in 2008 with Croatian teammate Jelena Kostanic Tosic.

Meanwhile Venus and Serena Williams were both eliminated in the fourth round of the ladies' singles, the first time in five years that neither sister will play in the quarterfinals at the All England Club.

Defending champion and four-time winner Serena was the first to go, beaten 6-3, 7-6 (6) by Marion Bartoli of France, cutting short the American's return to Grand Slam tennis after nearly a year out with serious health problems.

Older sister and five-time champion Venus was ousted 6-2, 6-3 by Tsvetana Pironkova - the exact same score of the Bulgarian's win in last year's quarterfinals.

"Definitely not our best day," Venus said. "I think we both envisioned seeing this day going a little bit different."

Also knocked out was top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, who fell 1-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 to No. 24 Dominika Cibulkova in the Dane's latest failed attempt to win her first Grand Slam title.

Venus and Serena have won nine of the last 11 titles at Wimbledon, and have faced each other in four finals.

In 2006, Venus lost in the third round and Serena missed the tournament. This is the first year that, when both sisters were in the draw, both lost before the quarterfinals.

The last time the sisters lost on the same day at a Grand Slam was in 2008, when they fell in the third round at the French Open.

In other women's play, fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka beat Nadia Petrova 6-2, 6-2; German wild card Sabine Lisicki reached the quarters for the second time, downing Petra Cetkovska 7-6 (3), 6-1; No. 8 Petra Kvitova, a semifinalist here last year, needed just 45 minutes to defeat No. 19 Yanina Wickmayer 6-0, 6-2; and 80th-ranked Austrian Tamira Paszek beat Ksenia Pervak of Russia 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 to secure her first Grand Slam quarterfinal berth.

- Herald Online, AP