On the plus side, Zheng Jie will get another chance at Wimbledon in a few weeks.

China's Zheng, a former semifinalist here, lost to the United States' Serena Williams, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 9-7 on Saturday in a third-round marathon match. Williams racked up 23 aces.

Williams moves on to face Yaroslava Shvedova in the fourth round. Shvedova, a Kazakhstani qualifier, defeated No 10 seed Sara Errani in the third round, 6-1, 6-1.

Zheng will be back at Wimbledon to play for China at the London Olympics.

Elsewhere, recent French Open champions Ana Ivanovic and Francesca Schiavone reached the fourth round with victories.

Ivanovic had a much tougher time. The 14th-seeded Ivanovic, whose only Grand Slam title came in Paris in 2008, came back from a set down to beat 22nd-seeded Julia Goerges 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Defending champion Petra Kvitova wasn't challenged a bit, getting to the fourth round with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over 53rd-ranked Varvara Lepchenko of the United States.

Playing her usual varied and attacking style, the 24th-seeded Schiavone defeated 31st-ranked Klara Zakopalova 6-0, 6-4 in 68 minutes. Schiavone won the 2010 French Open, then was the runner-up last year.

Schiavone reached the fourth round for the second time in 13 appearances. She was a quarterfinalist in 2009, but bowed out in the first round the next year, two weeks after becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam.

Schiavone played steadier than Zakopalova, who finished with 20 unforced errors, 12 in the first set. While Schiavone never faced a break point, she earned five on Zakopalova's serve and converted four.

Ivanovic's best showing at Wimbledon was a run to the semifinals in 2007. But she lost in the third round last year, and the first round in 2010.

Against Goerges, who was trying to give Germany three women in the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time since 1987, Ivanovic kept teetering on the edge of trouble. Serving for the match, she faced a break point at 30-40, and came up with a cross-court forehand winner that clipped the outside edge of a line.

(China Daily 07/01/2012 page23)