Only one former major champion, and no former No. 1s., remained in the Wimbledon women's draw after Tuesday action.

Kerber Eliminates Sharapova

French Open champion Maria Sharapova fell to Angelique Kerber on Tuesday 7-6 4-6 6-4. With the win, Kerber will advance to the quarterfinals.

Kerber matched the mental toughness of the Russian throughout the match, refusing to be overpowered. In the third set with Kerber on the brink of victory, Sharapova would not go quietly as she fought off six match points to stay in the match. But where the Kerber of a few years ago may have collapsed under the pressure, this time she held strong and closed out the match.

For two hours and 37 minutes, these two fighters went toe-to-toe in their clash. Kerber knew that nothing would be given to her, “For sure, you need to play really 100 percent, and you need to be ready for every single point because she is playing until the last point, like we see today,” she said.

Aside from the mental toughness, Kerber profited from 49 unforced errors by Sharapova while yielding just 11 off of her racket. That disparity proved slightly more important than the gulf between the Russian’s 57 winners and Kerber’s 27. Kerber will face Eugenie Bouchard in the quarterfinals. Bouchard defeated Alize Cornet on Monday.

Kvitova, Halep Stride to Semifinals

2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and French Open runner-up Simona Halep cruised into the semifinals with wins on Tuesday. Kvitova maintained her high-caliber play at Wimbledon by defeating Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-1 7-5. The sixth seed continued her aggressive play with 29 winners to her opponent’s five.

With the victory, Kvitova will join fellow Czech Lucie Safarova in the semifinals. The No. 23 seed defeated Ekaterina Makarova 6-3 6-1. Kvitova knows she will have her hands full with Safarova, “We played last time in Eastbourne. It was a big fight until the end. I'm expecting a tough battle again,” she commented.

Meanwhile, Simona Halep cruised past Zarina Diyas 6-3 6-0 in just 57 minutes. With other high-profile names grabbing attention this fortnight, Halep has flown under the radar despite the fact that she was runner-up at Roland Garros just a few weeks ago.

The Romanian dictated play throughout the match, consistently placing Diyas on the defensive. She took nearly twice as many points as her opponent in the match. Halep will face Sabine Lisicki, who continued to play within her comfort zone on the grass courts. However, it did take Lisicki three sets to clear Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3,3-6 6-4.