The two probable quarter-finalists in the top half of the women's draw, Jennifer Capriati and Serena Williams, lined up their prey yesterday and in the end were unable to prevent themselves from having a second set gorge.

Capriati, facing the hapless Italian Francesca Schiavone, who she had never played, worked one break in the first set for 6-3 before turning up the volume in the second for a walloping 6-1.

While the quarter-final remains two matches away for both players and in their eyes well beyond the horizon, their seamless progress, although occasionally ragged, has not yet been remotely threatened.

Williams, once more drawing gasps from the crowd in the way Andy Roddick did in the succeeding Centre Court match, again bullied her opponent Barbara Rittner around the grass with ferocity and pace.

While the German tried, as most players do, to simply fetch the ball back and hope that Williams hits a loser, as she often does, the subtlety of her robust game was again a source of debate in the post match conference.

It is a regular pastime at these championships to look at the massively dominant players and talk about their weakness's. While Capriati passed with honours when questioned about her apparently flakey serve under pressure, Serena was less evasive or modest.

"You can only imagine what I have the potential of doing," she said having voiced her displeasure at her overall performance. On subtlety she added: "I think it's very important. I like to put in a drop shot every now and then. You can win a free point. All of a sudden hit a drop shot and there you have it." Simple.

Her father Richard told Radio 5 Live that he did not think she played very well and left half way through the second set. High standards and quite a contrast to the mellowing Stefano Capriati, who now stoically winces and grits his teeth for every one of his daughter's points.

The post-career crisis Jennifer was again a model of reflection and sense.

"It's definitely a groove. It's just maintaining it. It's easier to maintain it than get there," she said of her form.

"I've got to be satisfied with it, with myself. And I stopped listening to what the others were saying. And I stopped reading the things. I stopped believing those things actually," she added.

A tired looking Justine Henin was close to making a premature exit to Kristie Boogert. The ninth seed Henin, who had beaten the Dutch player twice before, succeeded in dropping the first set 5-7 before retrieving the second from 4-1 down to win it by the same score.

Discovering her concentration in the third set she smartly left Boogert in little doubt of her intentions and stung back 6-2 and for a place in the third round.

Elena Dementieva, the Russian 12th seed advanced in three sets against the unheralded Bianka Lande. One of the young breed of hard hitters Dimentieva, lost the first 4-6 but untroubled rallied 6-3, 6-2.