After a day of upsets on Tuesday, two Americans produced their own on Wednesday as players continued to face hot conditions on the south side of London.

Big Day for Americans

American women made a big impression in the draw on Wednesday. Led by Bethanie Mattek-Sands, six American women advanced, with five of those working their way into the round of 32.

Mattek-Sands put her doubles skills to good use in her 6-3 6-4 victory against seventh-seeded Ana Ivanovic. The vivacious American crafted a solid match behind a net game used successfully during her long doubles career. Advancing to the net frequently, Mattek-Sands won 29 of 38 points on volleys, pressuring the Serb throughout the match. Earning her way into the main draw as a qualifier, the 30-year-old has made the most of it and will next face 30th-seeded Belinda Bencic.

Meanwhile, top-seeded Serena Williams was all business against Timea Babos on Centre Court, advancing 6-4 6-1. The world No. 1 quickly took control of the match early, avoiding a slow start that has become somewhat commonplace recently. Finding success against the Hungarian’s serve, Williams earned early breaks of service in each set and pressured the world No. 93 throughout the match.

Afterwards, Williams appeared pleased with her play. “I’m definitely playing well, which I never say,” she said. “I had two really tough matches straight off the bat, so I had to pick up my game. She has such a good serve. I really had no option but to play well so far.”

Elsewhere, CoCo Vandeweghe joined Mattek-Sands in producing her own upset as she defeated the 11th seed, Karolina Pliskova. Using power to her advantage on the grass surface, Vandeweghe only needed two sets to defeat one of the rising stars on the tour and advanced 7-6 6-4.

Using her big serve as a weapon, the 23-year-old ripped 15 aces and only allowed the Czech one service break during the match. Using strong groundstrokes to her advantage, Vandeweghe dictated play as she fired 32 winners. She moves on to face veteran Sam Stosur next.

Later, two Americans squared off as Sloane Stephens met Lauren Davis. It was a case of too much power as Stephens advanced in straight sets, 6-4 6-4. Davis was forced to play defense, counter-punching the big groundstrokes from Stephens’ racket. Both players found it difficult to hold serve, but the world No. 37 broke five times, which was the difference in the match.

Elsewhere, Venus Williams joined her sister in the round of 32 after a hard-fought 7-5 6-4 victory against Yulia Putintseva. Williams found success behind her first serve, which came up big at key moments against the 20-year-old from Kazakhstan. The sisters are one victory each away from meeting each other in the fourth round.

In a match continued from Tuesday, Madison Keys finished a competitive battle against Stefanie Voegele with a 6-7 6-3 6-4 victory. Keys overcame a set and a break deficit and appeared confident on Wednesday. The American, who advanced to the semifinals of the Australian Open earlier in the year, is hoping to regain the consistency that produced positive results early in the season.

Sharapova Advances with Ease

Early in Maria Sharapova’s career, grass appeared to be her best surface. After all, three of her first four visits to Wimbledon produced a title and two semifinal results. But the Russian has not found the same level of success recently. Sharapova has not advanced past the fourth round since 2011, when she fell to Petra Kvitova in the final that year. Whether her lack of success produces any additional motivation remains to be seen, but the 28-year-old is off to a fast start this year.

On Wednesday, Sharapova eased past Richel Hogenkamp 6-3 6-1. After an early challenge by the Dutchwoman, the veteran sized up her opponent. She promptly reached into her arsenal of weapons, hammered Hogenkamp with powerful forehands, and attacked her serve. The combination of shots overwhelmed the world No. 123, who had no answer.

The four-time major champion has dropped just eight games in her first two matches at Wimbledon. With much conversation about the unusually hot weather in London, Sharapova was quick to put it in perspective. “It’s much warmer in my hometown of Longboat Key. There was some cloud coverage here, and I’ve trained quite long in the heat over there,” she said. “It’s about the preparation in understanding it’s going to be warm and not going for it too much because you want to make the points quicker than normal because of the heat. You need to be a little bit smarter out there. That is the most important thing.”

Sharapova advances to face Irina-Camelia Begu, the 29th seed, in the third round.