It’s Fantastic, It’s G.I.T.M. !!

If Serena Williams’s rivals were not already fiercely aware of the threat she poses at this year’s Wimbledon, they will now after she greeted a destruction of Daniela Hantuchova with a pledge to pick up her game.

“I feel like I definitely need to step it up, play better, really start playing some great tennis, or go home,” the second-seeded American told reporters after the 6-3 6-1 fourth-round victory. “And I don’t want to go home, so I feel like, you know, I’m just getting more serious.”

Bad news for Belarussian eighth seed Victoria Azarenka, who will face Serena in the quarter-finals after ousting Russian 10th seed Nadia Petrova on Monday.

If it had not been for the searing heat on Court Two, the two-times Wimbledon champion would barely have broken sweat against Hantuchova.

In just 56 minutes Serena, who is yet to drop a set at the All England Club this year, effortlessly outpowered Hantuchova who struggled to find any rhythm or any room for her shots.

Hantuchova, a 2002 Wimbledon quarter-finalist, showed fleeting glimpses of quality with a tidy backhand but crumbled in her service games as Serena, camped inside the baseline, returned ferociously. Unperturbed by the threat of Hantuchova, Serena’s father Richard Williams spent the second set contentedly tapping away on his phone, having already watched daughter Venus win against Serb Ana Invanovic earlier on Monday.

Serena, chasing her 11th grand slam title, has a 2-1 record over Azarenka with the Belarussian winning their last encounter in this year’s Miami final.

“She’s (Azarenka) obviously a good player and she’s really young. She has nothing to lose,” reigning Australian Open champion Williams added.

“This is Wimbledon. I feel the same way. It will be a really good match.”

Second seed Serena Williams powered into the fourth round at Wimbledon with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Italy’s Roberta Vinci on Friday.

Williams, a two-time Wimbledon champion, gave a masterclass in baseline play to bury Vinci under a barrage of brutal ground-strokes and set up a last 16 match against Japan’s Ai Sugiyama or Daniela Hantuchova.

Serena has yet to drop a set at Wimbledon this year and never looked likely to lose that impressive record in her 200th Grand Slam match.

It is six years since Serena last won Wimbledon and, with last year’s final defeat to her sister Venus in mind, the Australian Open champion has the look of a woman on a mission to regain her crown.

A brief glance at Vinci’s under-whelming CV suggested there was little in her game to frighten Serena.

The world number 53 had never been past the third round of a Grand Slam in 17 attempts and Serena, who took just 58 minutes to dispose of Jarmila Groth in the second round, seemed determined to make short work of Vinci.

She broke for an early 2-0 lead then, after dropping her own serve, extinguished the Italian’s hopes with another morale-crushing break.

The 27-year-old revealed after beating Groth that she is working on a television script, but cliffhanger moments were in short supply after that.

Serena’s power hitting was too much for Vinci. With almost every ball racing back at Vinci, it was a surprise when Serena won a point with a more subtle touch.

When Vinci scampered to the net to retrieve a Williams drop-shot, she was left horribly exposed, but instead of blasting the ball at her opponent, Serena simply clipped a gentle winner down the line.

While some of her less famous female contemporaries had been granted a spot on Wimbledon’s two main show courts on Friday, Serena was surprisingly shunted out to the new Court Two.

If she was unsettled by the less glamorous surroundings, she didn’t show it.

The first set was secured with the minimum fuss and she broke in the first game of the second set to take complete control.

Another break put Serena 4-1 ahead. It was all too easy and she briefly let her concentration waver before closing out the match in emphatic style.

The second seeded, Serena Williams, came out victorious in her R2 encounter with the fellow american Jarmila Groth. Serena powered as ever, managed to just let 3 games slip past her to reach R3 at Wimbledon 2009.

In just 58 minutes, Serena pushed her opponent away with power and accurate tennis by 62 61.
You can view those stats here.

In the next round Serena Williams will face Roberta Vinci.

Serena Williams,  pictured above, started her Wimbledon final defence with a booming 1st set and a shaky 2nd set. Serena quickly took the 1st set in less than 30 minutes. The second set was a bit slower and more equal, however Serena prevailed 7-5 after 47 minutes.

Serena Williams served superb and she didn’t even face a break-point during this match, and aced 9 times past Neuza Silva en route to the win. You can view all stats here.

Next Serena Williams will face a fellow American Jarmila Groth.