Seven-time Wimbledon singles champion Serena Williams reached the quarter-finals at SW19 with a dominant display against Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro.

The American 11th seed, 37, raced to a 6-2 6-2 victory against the 30-year-old world number 31.

Williams will play compatriot Alison Riske in the last eight after she upset world number one Ashleigh Barty.

In another unexpected result, Karolina Muchova beat third seed Karolina Pliskova 4-6 7-5 13-11.

The all-Czech encounter was a game away from becoming the first Wimbledon match decided by the new rule which sees a tie-break played if it reaches 12-12 in the final set.

But world number 68 Muchova, who has never reached a Grand Slam quarter-final before, hit a forehand winner to break at 12-11 up and claim victory after three hours and 17 minutes.

The 22-year-old will face Ukrainian eighth seed Elina Svitolina next, who moved into the last eight with a 6-4 6-2 win against Petra Martic.

• Top seed Barty knocked out of Wimbledon
• ‘I can’t put into words how I feel’ – Coco’s Wimbledon fairytale
• Scores, results and order of play from Wimbledon

Williams is also in the second round of the mixed doubles with Britain’s Andy Murray and said she was happy to have more playing time at the All England Club.

“I have more matches this week than in the past five months, but it is good,” she explained.

“I know I can play and now that I feel better physically I almost feel a relief. I still want it or I wouldn’t be here.”

Williams took control from the outset, breaking Suarez Navarro’s serve in the first game then breaking again to go 5-2 up.

But shortly before that Williams, who played in her first Grand Slam in 1998, had to be reminded of the rules by the umpire as she reached over the net to hit a volley.

The 23-time major winner told the umpire “I thought it was allowed” after the point was overruled, but was ultimately undisturbed as she claimed the first set in 31 minutes.

Williams made an equally commanding start to the second set as she broke Suarez Navarro in her first two service games, but the four-time Olympic champion then dipped momentarily as she lost her serve to love.

Suarez Navarro has never won more than three games in a set against the American though, and Williams ensured that record continued as she broke for a third time then held serve to close out the match in one hour and four minutes.

Elsewhere, Belgian 24th seed Elise Mertens served for the match against the Czech Republic’s Barbora Strycova but was eventually beaten 4-6 7-5 6-2.

The world number 54 will play Britain’s Johanna Konta after she beat Petra Kvitova in three sets.

China’s Zhang Shuai held off Ukrainian 19-year-old Dayana Yastremska 6-4 1-6 6-2 and will now play Simona Halep, who ended 15-year-old Coco Gauff’s run with a 6-3 6-3 victory.

Analysis

American former world number six Chanda Rubin on BBC TV

This was just a classic Serena Williams performance. Everything was firing and on point.

Carla Suarez Navarro is an opponent she has never really had trouble with. Williams broke her in the first game and she never looked back.

She did not have enough against Williams’ power, serving and movement.

If Britain’s Johanna Konta finds herself in a third set in Tuesday’s Wimbledon quarter-final, she can draw confidence from the fact that on recent form she is likely to pull through.

The British number one came from behind to beat two-time champion Petra Kvitova to win her 13th of 15 three-setters in 2019 and faces Barbora Strycova next.

“That’s something I can be really proud of,” the 28-year-old said.

“It comes with match fitness, as well, with playing a lot of them.”

Konta will face Strycova on Centre Court after 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams takes on fellow American Alison Riske at 13:00 BST.

The Briton is one win away from emulating her 2017 feat of reaching the last four and two away from becoming the first British women’s singles finalist since Virginia Wade won the title in 1977.

“The experience that I had in 2017 was a magnificent one. It was something that is incredibly special to me,” Konta said.

“Equally how I’m doing so far, I’m just really pleased with the level I’m playing, how I’m competing, how I’m really just trying to find a way in each match that I play.”

She has faced Czech world number 54 Strycova just once before, losing in straight sets on a hard court in Tokyo in 2017.

“She’s a very crafty player,” Konta said. “She knows how to mix up the game. She knows how to play on this surface.

“To know… that I have the capability to stay there as long as I need to for however long, even if losing the first set, I know I have every opportunity to get back into the match.”

• Konta beats Pliskova to reach quarters
• Williams through to Wimbledon quarters
• High hopes for Coco Gauff after astonishing Wimbledon run

Analysis – ‘Konta has a shot at winning’

Three-time Wimbledon singles champion John McEnroe on BBC TV

I admire Konta’s fighting qualities. Everything about her game is very meticulously planned out. To me she is a better player now than when she got to the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2017.

She is mixing up her serve nicely. The team has looked back on her career and realised that variety is the spice of life and that could help her in the end.

I’m not going to say she’s the favourite to win this but she’s got a shot at it, for sure.

Williams faces debutant – and has a Murray debate to settle

If Konta can beat Strycova, she would face the winner of the match between Williams and Riske, who beat world number one Ashleigh Barty to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final.

Williams will play two matches in one day on Centre Court, playing her singles quarter-final before returning to action after Konta’s match to continue her high-profile mixed doubles partnership with Britain’s Andy Murray.

They face American Raquel Atawo and Frenchman Fabrice Martin in the second round as former world number one Murray continues his comeback following hip surgery.

They gelled well in their first crowd-pleasing display on Saturday, but they still need to sort out one issue – their nickname.

“He did tweet Ser-Andy. I was like, ‘I like Murena. My vote is still for Murena’,” Williams smiled.

Seventh seed Simona Halep is the highest ranked player left in the women’s singles after defeats on Monday for Barty and third seed Karolina Pliskova.

She faces China’s Zhang Shuai, who is ranked 50th in the world but who has posed the Romanian problems in the past, including a stunning upset in the 2016 Australian Open first round.

“Things are different now,” Halep said. “I don’t want to think about the past that much. I’m different and I’m feeling different on court. This is what matters.”

In the other quarter-final, Ukrainian eighth seed Elina Svitolina takes on Czech world number 68 Karolina Muchova.

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Her Wimbledon run was so extraordinary that Serena Williams and Andy Murray had to cancel their plans.

“It was definitely the best week of my life,” Coco Gauff told the BBC – few 15-year-olds will have had better.

This American – a qualifier, remember – is why Wimbledon 2019 will live long in the memory for all who have experienced it. She enjoyed a rise to stardom so rapid that she became the hottest ticket in town.

Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion and whose face adorns posters in Gauff’s bedroom, called her an “absolute star”. Her eventual conqueror, Simona Halep, said “she will be top 10 soon”.

The likes of former First Lady Michelle Obama, Jaden Smith and Beyonce’s mum all became interested in the youngster from Florida, who, still eight months shy of her sweet 16, will soon fly back across the pond to finish her school year.

But despite her remarkable run to the fourth round at the All England Club, Gauff has remained humble and showed a maturity throughout.

“I learned a lot,” she said. “I learned how to play in front of a big crowd. I learned what it was like to be under pressure. I learned a lot and I’m really thankful for this experience.

“I hope they learned about me – that I’m a fighter and I’ll never give up.

“I hope they learned from me that anything is possible if you work hard, just continue to dream big.”

In reaching the last 16, she pockets £176,000 but, not yet old enough to drive, plans to make her first purchase a new hoodie. She will soon go on a mini holiday with her family. Her parents – themselves former sportspeople – have been a constant by her side through her journey to the second week.

And a holiday is just what she needs. She looked out of sorts against Halep, an upset stomach blighting her performance as the Romanian former world number one proved a challenge too far for a player who, only a couple of weeks ago, was sitting a science exam.

Yet Halep, among others, has high expectations for the new kid on the block.

“She has potential to be a very good player,” she said.

“It’s a huge thing that she is able to play in the fourth round at Wimbledon, and if she keeps going, she will be top 10 soon.”

• Konta beats Pliskova to reach quarters
• Serena Williams through to Wimbledon quarters

How did she do it?

Twelve months ago, Gauff entered the Wimbledon junior competition and could not get beyond the quarter-finals. A lot can change in a year.

In qualifying at Roehampton in June, she became the youngest player in the Open era to qualify for the main draw, but it was her straight-set victory over five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams – 24 years her senior – that announced her arrival.

Next up was former Wimbledon semi-finalist Magdalena Rybarikova in a match that would see Gauff become the youngest player to reach the last 32 at Wimbledon since fellow American Jennifer Capriati, who reached the semi-finals in 1991, also aged 15.

Prior to the match, she had chatted with Roger Federer and was watched in practice by Rafael Nadal and, in a performance that belied her years, she looked at home on the grass as she wrapped up victory in straight sets.

Polona Hercog was the next to try to take her down, and it looked as though that was exactly what was going to happen when she won the first set.

Yet, in her most astonishing performance to date, Gauff saved two match points before launching a comeback even the very best would be proud of, one which forced Murray and Williams’ mixed doubles debut to be postponed until the following day.

Despite a straight-sets defeat by Halep, Gauff leaves London knowing she has left her mark.

“It just shows that even though I’m young, my game gives these players a little bit of a hustle,” Gauff said.

“I can’t put into words how I feel, I don’t know how long it will take until it sinks in.”

Where does she go from here?

WTA rules dictate Gauff can play only 10 professional tournaments between her 15th and 16th birthdays. With five already under her belt, Gauff will make reaching next month’s US Open her priority. Her Wimbledon performance has bumped her into the world top 150, a ranking that will leave her hoping to be handed a wildcard for the main draw in New York.

But now she is in the limelight, she won’t be leaving it any time soon. She will need to be carefully managed, with new sponsorship deals and increased media interest undoubtedly headed her way.

But, as her “idol” Williams says, keeping her grounded falls on all the people around her.

“We’re not famous when we go home or when we go to sleep and we shut our eyes,” she said. “We really look at ourselves as anyone else. We really always try to remain incredibly humble.

“I really think it boils down to parents and role models.

“She’s a complete star. I personally was nothing like her at 15. First of all, I didn’t play like that. I didn’t look like that. She’s just so poised. I was somewhere watching cartoons, for sure.”

Gauff has previously spoken of her desire to go to college, a “requirement” from her parents though she plans to complete her education online, allowing her to continue playing professionally.

“She will be a very tough opponent for everybody. If she keeps doing what she did here, she’s going to get a lot of confidence and she can win big tournaments soon,” added Halep.

“I think it’s a good thing, a positive thing, for tennis because the juniors can see that everything is possible. They can get motivated. They get confident there is a chance for everybody.”

• Ashleigh Barty beaten at Wimbledon 2019 by Alison Riske
• Scores, results and order of play

Coco Gauff’s remarkable fairytale run at Wimbledon came to an end with a straight-set defeat by former world number one Simona Halep.

Seventh seed Halep, 27, beat the 15-year-old American qualifier 6-3 6-3 to advance to the quarter-finals, where she will play China’s Zhang Shuai.

Gauff had beaten Venus Williams, Magdalena Rybarikova and Polona Hercog on her way to the last 16.

But she appeared out of sorts on court, calling on a doctor in the second set.

Gauff had been bidding to become the youngest Wimbledon quarter-finalist since fellow 15-year-old American Jennifer Capriati in 1991.

“I wasn’t feeling very well but I still played my best. I’m not sure what it was but I still had fun even though I was losing,” she said.

“I learned a lot about how to play in front of a big crowd and how to play under pressure. I am really grateful for the experience.”

• Top seed Barty knocked out of Wimbledon
• Williams dominates Suarez Navarro to reach last eight

Gauff’s meeting with 2014 Wimbledon semi-finalist Halep was the match everyone wanted to watch on Manic Monday, with Vogue editor Anna Wintour forced to watch from a staircase because of the bumper crowd.

But the magnitude of the occasion appeared to get to Gauff, who showed signs of early nerves by having her serve broken in the very first game.

She broke back immediately, and later in the first set almost went another break up when Halep double-faulted twice in succession, but scuppered two break points as Halep held serve.

Yet unlike her cool and calm approach in previous matches, Gauff looked despondent after every game she lost, throwing her racquet to the ground and clapping her hands together in frustration as Halep broke her serve to go 3-2 up.

Gauff was broken once more as Halep took the set before the second set started in exactly the same fashion, Halep breaking her young opponent’s serve at the first chance.

Yet again Gauff immediately broke back, but she lost on serve again to gift her opponent a 4-2 lead, and Halep went on to hold match point on a break but Gauff rallied back.

Gauff showed not a flicker of emotion as Halep eventually served out the set, not even stopping to greet the autograph hunters as she walked to the changing rooms.

‘She has all the ingredients’ – analysis

Two-time Grand Slam champion Tracy Austin on BBC TV

The fairytale has ended but it’s only just beginning for Coco Gauff. She has all the ingredients she needs to be a future Grand Slam champion.

It’s been a lot of fun watching her at Wimbledon this year.

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