Mother Nature finally intervened, and the skies opened early on Thursday. Some matches were delayed, but when play resumed, normalcy returned for some high seeds, while one joined the list of those bitten by lower-ranked opponents.

Kvitova Continues to Cruise

Defending champion Petra Kvitova continued her assault on the draw with a 6-2 6-0 victory against Kurumi Nara of Japan on Thursday. In a match that took less than an hour, the Czech appeared poised and confident on the grass surface she has twice conquered.

Kvitova advanced to the third round having dropped just three games in two matches. Her serve was on point against the world No. 57 as she ripped 10 aces on the day. Nara was unable to find any traction against the second seed and spent most of the match on the defensive. Kvitova fired 23 winners, while Nara could muster just three.

The left-hander reflected on the result afterwards, saying “It was a good match from my side. I was really expecting a tough match because I saw a little bit when she played Venus Williams here last year. I was really prepared, and I’m really happy with how I played today, how I managed to win.” She will face veteran Jelena Jankovic in the third round.

Wozniacki Advances

Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki has advanced to at least the quarterfinals of each major with the exception of Wimbledon. She has yet to cross the threshold of the fourth round in London despite advancing there on four previous occasions. On Thursday, the Dane took a step closer to finally accomplishing this.

Wozniacki defeated Denisa Allertova 6-1 7-6 (6) in the second round. But she actually held a 5-1 lead in the second set before the Czech made a comeback to force a tiebreak. Wozniacki prevailed but made additional news after her performance. Perhaps her late collapse led to an unusually testy answer during her post-match press conference that has created much discussion.

When asked to comment about her third-round opponent Camila Giorgi, the usually playful Wozniacki responded, “Are we in Camila’s press conference or are we in mine? I’m starting to not know exactly. You can ask her.”

As the journalist continued to pursue, Wozniacki quipped, “I really don’t know what’s going on inside of her head. I’m sorry. I know what’s going on inside of my head. That’s all I can answer.” Finally perturbed at the continual line of questioning, she ended any further talk of Giorgi with “Next question.”

Wozniacki has benefited from some upsets in the draw, which has elevated talk of her as a contender.

Makarova Falters

The one exception to the top seeds ruling the day was 8th-seeded Ekaterina Makarova, who fell to Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-2 7-5. Makarova has quietly climbed the rankings and has become a factor in major tournaments, as was evidenced in last season’s U. S. Open and the Australian Open earlier this year. In both, she advanced to the semifinals.

But on Thursday, it was Rybarikova who excelled. Playing a clean match, the Slovakian came up with 26 winners to just five unforced errors, while the higher seed appeared to struggle on the grass surface. Aided by her big serve, which produced 11 aces, Rybarikova was more than Makarova could handle on this day. It was a complete and balanced effort by the world No. 65, who played on a level higher than her current ranking.