Venus and Serena reach last eight

Sisters Venus and Serena Williams both eased into the Wimbledon quarter-finals with victories over Ana Ivanovic and Daniela Hantuchova respectively.

Defending champion Venus was leading 6-1 1-0 when Ivanovic retired with a thigh problem after lengthy treatment.

The American third seed will now play Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat 17-year-old qualifier Melanie Oudin 6-4 7-5.

Serena beat Daniela Hantuchova 6-3 6-1 and will play Victoria Azarenka after she overcame Nadia Petrova.

There was a shock on Court Four, however, as Danish ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki crashed out to Sabine Lisicki of Germany.

Wozniacki - many people's tip to go far in the women's draw - went down 6-4 6-4 and missed out on a quarter-final match-up against top seed Dinara Safina or Amelie Mauresmo.

The Dane failed to convert any of her six break-point chances as world number 41 Lisicki, who accounted for French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in round three, held her nerve to come through.


Tearful Ivanovic retires
Fourth seed Elena Dementieva was a 6-1 6-3 winner against fellow Russian Elena Vesnina and now faces Francesca Schiavone after she beat 26th seed Virginie Razzano 6-2 7-6 (7-1).

The unseeded Italian had never previously gone beyond the third round at Wimbledon but looked fully of confidence after her shock victory over 12th seed Marion Bartoli in round three and was fully deserving of a place in the last eight.

Dementieva, a semi-finalist in 2008, attacked Vesnine from the outset and raced into a 5-0 lead before serving out the first set for the loss of only one game.

Vesnina rallied at the start of the second set but was broken in game four and then again at 5-3 as Dementieva wrapped up a 69-minute victory.

Venus, who is now on an 18-match winning streak at Wimbledon, looked well on course for victory before a tearful Ivanovic succumbed to injury.

She raced through the opening set and has now won 30 consecutive sets at Wimbledon, a run that dates back to her third-round match against Akiko Morigami in 2007.

Number 13 seed Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion, called the trainer after hitting an ace to save break point during game one of the second.


Highlights - Serena crushes Hantuchova
"I didn't feel anything up until that point," she later told BBC Sport. "When I landed, I just felt a sharp pain on my inner thigh, and I couldn't step on my leg again."

The 21-year-old Serb had her left thigh taped up but was clearly hampered and, despite taking a 1-0 lead, she retired at the change of ends.

"I think she was in a lot of pain," said Venus, who is bidding to become the first woman to win three successive Wimbledon singles titles since Steffi Graf between 1991-1993.

"I'm one of those players who only pays attention to what's going on on my side of the net. But I felt really sad for her actually. She was really upset.

"This is Wimbledon. It's the last place you want to have an injury that you can't overcome."

Venus' quarter-final opponent Radwanska took advantage of some shaky moments from world number 124 Oudin to progress.

The American miscued an easy volley to lose the first set, and faded after leading by a break in the second.

An all-Williams final remains possible after two-time champion Serena cruised past Hantuchova in just 56 minutes on Court Two.

The number two seed exchanged breaks with her Slovakian opponent early on but it was one-way traffic thereafter.

Serena raced into a 4-0 lead in the second set and, although Hantuchova managed to get on the scoreboard in game five, it was too little too late for the world number 32 , who wilted under the pressure.

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After holding serve for 5-1, Serena forced another break in game seven to clinch the win and a last eight spot.

There she will meet the number eight seed Azarenka after the Belarussian claimed a 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 6-3 win against 10th seed Petrova.

Azarenka had already won the opening set on a tie-break when she lost her discipline in the second.

The 19-year-old, unhappy with a line call, accused the umpire of "ruining the game" before going over to sarcastically shake the hand of the line judge.

Azarenka's tantrum occurred at 4-2 down in the second set as she struggled to get on top of Petrova's game and went on to lose the set.

But in a one-sided final set on Court Three, Azarenka's class eventually told and she game through powerfully to win.