Four-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams was taken to the brink by China 's Zheng Jie before earning a place in the last 16 Saturday . Williams needed two and a half hours on Centre Court to subdue her 25th seeded opponent , who had reached the semifinals at the All England Club four years ago as a wild card . On the way she had beaten the American superstar and came close to pulling off another upset after taking the first set tiebreak . But back came Williams to level before a grueling final set in which Zheng showed her typical determination . Serving second , she continued to hold until the 15th game when her sixth seeded opponent broke through . Zheng saved two match points before Williams sealed a clash against Yaroslava Shvedova for a place in the last eight . `` We always have unbelievable matches together and I knew it was going to be tough , '' Williams told BBC Sport after her win . Earlier Shvedova had created Wimbledon and WTA history in a remarkable first set against French Open runner up Sara Errani of Italy . Shvedova took every point , 24 without reply , to break her own record of 23 set in Memphis in 2006 . It was the first time a so-called Golden Set had been achieved in Grand Slam history . Errani restored some pride in the second set but still slipped to a 6-0 6-4 defeat . Defending champion Petra Kvitova continued her serene progress into the second week with a 6-1 6-0 romp against Varvara Lepchenko of the United States . Second seed Victoria Azarenka of the Belarus also had an easy passage , beating Jana Cepelova of Slovakia 6-2 6-3 . And former World No.1 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia showed her improved form as she beat Julia Goerges of Germany 3-6 6-3 6-4 .
Serena Williams taken to three sets by Zheng Jie . Four - time champion Venus next face world ##l . Shvedova took every point in first set in beating Sara White . Defending champion Petra Kvitova eases through .