Mother Nature imposed her will upon the All England Club on Saturday. However, when the skies cleared, there was exciting action before the end of the session.

Serena Williams Falls

The world No. 1 had cruised to the third round. However, on Saturday, she found herself in a fight with Alize Cornet of France, who had already defeated the American earlier this year in Dubai. Much like that result, it was Cornet springing the upset eliminating the top seed, 1-6 6-3 6-4.

After a dicey start, followed by a rain delay, top-seeded Williams found her best form and rolled through the first set at 6-1. Just as it appeared she would cruise in the match, Cornet reversed the course. Taking advantage of miscues off Williams' racket with clever and well-placed shots, she evened the match despite a late surge by the 32-year-old.

In the third set, Williams looked sluggish and lacked fluid footwork at times. She attempted to motivate herself with fist pumps and screams as Cornet threatened an early service break. She temporarily fought her off, but the Frenchwoman was relentless despite missing some golden chances and finally broke through on Williams' serve. A clearly frustrated and at times lethargic Williams lost her serve once more. Despite regaining one break, the hole proved to be too much to overcome.

After the upset, an ecstatic Cornet dashed across the court to the delight of the crowd. She will move on to face Eugenie Bouchard on Monday.

Sharapova Dominates

As the weather only allowed for action on Centre Court early, French Open champion Maria Sharapova faced rising American Alison Riske. After a competitive match early, the tide quickly turned as Sharapova advanced 6-3 6-0.

The scrappy American made her presence known early, breaking the Russian's serve right out of the gate. However, Sharapova quickly found her groove, picking up her intensity and rallying to take the set.

Once she found her stride, the flood gates opened. Riske had played well early in the match but was never able to make inroads after the fast start. The fifth seed overpowered and overwhelmed the young American, taking the last 11 games and advancing to the round of 16.

“I made a slow start, but I felt better as the match went on,” Sharapova said. She now turns her focus to week two. “I am happy to be in the second week after missing out last year.” The Russian won the title 10 years ago.

With the elimination of Serena Williams, Sharapova becomes the favorite to advance to the semifinals where she could see Simona Halep in what would be a rematch of the Roland Garros final.

Bouchard Advances

Canadian Eugenie Bouchard faced French Open semifinalist Andrea Petkovic in a match interrupted by rain. The No. 13 seed advanced to the round of 16 with a 6-3 6-4 win.

Despite a struggling serve in the first set, Bouchard broke the German three times to take the set. While her serve was not the most dependable component of her game on Saturday, her groundstrokes were as she struck 30 winners in the match.

Halep Strides

By her own admission, third-seeded Simona Halep did not play well in her last match. However, the French Open runner-up displayed tennis that more closely resembled that of her Roland Garros run, defeating 17-year-old Belinda Bencic 6-4 6-1.

Halep broke Bencic's serve four times in the match while protecting her own serve throughout. She struck 25 winners while profiting from 19 unforced errors by the young Swiss. With the victory, the Romanian advances to the second week at a Grand Slam for the third time this year.