As the first week of the fortnight came to an end, 16 women entered play on Saturday hoping to prolong their stay in London. With the middle Sunday break tomorrow, eight advanced to the round of 16, which will begin Monday, but one of those will not be the defending champion.

Defending Champion Eliminated

Second-seeded Petra Kvitova had play rolling in her favor and appeared to be on her way to an easy third-round win, but veteran Jelana Jankovic turned around a match that looked out of her reach and defeated the defending champion, 3-6 7-5 6-4.

The Czech coasted in the first set and picked up where she left off at the beginning of the second as she jumped out to a 3-1 lead. But midway through the second set, the Serb turned the momentum around, fighting back to even the set at 4-4 with a service break. Staying the course and continuing to scrap, the Serb forced Kvitova to hold serve to force a tiebreak. Jankovic continued her turnaround and would break once more to even the match.

Both players held serve throughout the majority of the third set. However, Jankovic would find success extending the points, forcing Kvitova to cover more turf. The result was some untimely errors as it appeared the Czech began to slow somewhat. Then, as Kvitova served at 4-5 needing a hold to remain in the match, Jankovic seized the moment. And for the second straight set, the defending champion was unable to hold serve in the last game, and Jankovic broke to win the match.

Jankovic was thrilled with her result. “I'm overwhelmed. I'm so excited. My heart is still pumping,” she said. “I cannot believe this just happened, but this is what this sport is all about.”

She underscored her confidence going into the decisive third set, saying “After I won that second set I knew I had it, I just had to keep going.”

The 28th seed will face Aga Radwanska next, with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals. The No. 13 seed defeated Casey Dellacqua in straight sets.

Muguruza pushes past Kerber

10th-seeded Angelique Kerber had quietly made an impact during the first week behind her stellar play. With two dominating performances, she appeared primed to advance into the second week. But 20th seed Garbine Muguruza had something to say about that as she eliminated the German, 7-6 1-6 6-2.

In a match that featured an epic first-set tiebreak, the Spaniard was successful with high-risk, high-reward tennis. She finished the match with 57 winners but 43 unforced errors after taking her shots against the veteran.

The highlight of the match was the best set of tennis seen at this year’s championships. Muguruza overcame a 0-3 deficit in the set and won a marathon game to force a tiebreak that she eventually won 14-12, saving nine set points along the way. After the exhausting 83-minute set, Kerber composed herself to take the second set with ease.

However, in the third Muguruza regained momentum and as the set progressed, she found it much easier to hold her serve. Meanwhile, Kerber was forced to fight to protect hers and the Spaniard took advantage with two breaks of serve, which was too much for the German to overcome.

Muguruza reflected on the intense first set, saying “I can't believe this first set. It was like 13-13. It was a really tight moment, and I was happy that I could win this first set because it was very important.”

The 21-year-old defeated Kerber in the round of 32 at Roland Garros earlier in the year. She duplicated that feat and punched her ticket to the second week and the round of 16. There, she will face fifth seed Caroline Wozniacki, who cruised by Camilia Giorgi, 6-2 6-2. With Kvitova eliminated, the Dane is the only top-10 seed remaining in the bottom half of the draw.