World number one Rafael Nadal battled for five sets to advance into the round of last 16 at the Wimbledon Championships on Saturday.

Nadal, 24, couldn't split up with his German opponent Philipp Petzschner after four sets but managed to dominate the decider. The second seed finally won the match 6-4, 4-6, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3.

The 2008 Wimbledon champion is going to meet Paul-Henri Mathieu from France in the next round.

"I've been fighting a lot last two matches," Nadal said. "Physically I have a little bit of a problem on my right knee but I have one and a half days to get recovered.

"I am happy to be in the fourth round. For me it is very good news to have had very tough matches and win in the end," He said.

British fourth seed Andy Murray eased into the fourth round at Wimbledon with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win against France's Gilles Simon on Saturday.

Murray, who hasn't dropped a set so far, served 15 aces, conceded only 15 points on serve and did not face a single break point.

The Britain's hopes for a first homegrown male champion since 1936, will play American 18th seed Sam Querrey or Belgium's Xavier Malisse in the next round.

Sixth-seeded Robin Soderling beat the 24th-ranked Thomaz Bellucci 6-4, 6-2, 7-5, his third straight victory without losing a set.

Men's winners included 9th-seeded David Ferrer and Frenchmen Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Paul-Henri Mathieu and Julien Benneteau.

Earlier, defending women's champion Serena Williams and 2004 winner Maria Sharapova on Saturday advanced to a fourth round clash.

Serena Williams hit 20 aces in a straight-sets win over Dominika Cibulkova that set up a fourth-round matchup with former champion Maria Sharapova.

The top-seeded American had at least two aces in each of her eight service games and overpowered the 46th-ranked Slovak 6-0, 7-5 on Centre Court.

"Serving that well feels awesome," Williams said. "I serve well at Wimbledon for some unknown reason. I want to keep doing it. I wish I could serve like this every tournament."

She will meet a familar foe in Russian 16th seed Maria Sharapova, who beat Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 7-5, 6-3.

"It'll be a really tough match. She's a defending champion and playing really well," Sharapova said.

Also Saturday, third-seeded Caroline Wozniacki made it to the fourth round by beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-4. She'll face unseeded Czech Petra Kvitova, who upset 14th-seeded Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-0.

Seventh-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska advanced with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Sara Errani of Italy.

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