Holder and top seed Serena Williams and fellow former world number one Lindsay Davenport both swatted teenagers aside while Jennifer Capriati stomped on young Russian Nadia Petrova.

But 17-year-old Siberian sensation Maria Sharapova bucked the trend, beating Japanese 11th seed Ai Sugiyama 5-7 7-5 6-1 to reach the semi-finals of a grand slam for the first time.

"This moment ... I am speechless, really," the 13th seed said. "I always wanted to play on Centre Court but never thought about reaching the semi-finals."

She will face 1999 champion and fifth seed Davenport in the last four after the 28-year-old American thrashed Croatian teenager Karolina Sprem 6-2 6-2.

Rain delays earlier in the tournament meant the top half of the draw were a round behind, playing to reach the quarters, and Serena meted out the most one-sided scoreline of the day.

The twice champion flattened 16-year-old French girl Tatiana Golovin 6-2 6-1 to reach the last eight.

Serena pummelled the fastest serve ever by a woman at Wimbledon -- a 126 miles per hour (202.8 kph) scorcher -- and gave Golovin the runaround from the start. But still she felt she could have done better.

"I really didn't think I played well today," she mused. "I thought I didn't do some things that I wanted to do, so... I don't know. I guess I can't complain too much, huh?"

TEENAGE BRAVADO

Golovin claimed she had been neither overawed nor overpowered and that next time she would beat Serena, although how much of that can be put down to 16-year-old bravado is debatable.

"I thought I was going to be a little bit more nervous than I was, but I felt really good out there," she said. "I played well. Playing Serena ... of course, beating her for the first time, would be really amazing. But I'll do it next time. I'm getting used to the big courts."

However, it will take more than a familiarity with the world's showcourts to enable Golovin to beat Serena.

Someone with a much better chance of wrestling Serena's crown from her is Jennifer Capriati, the fellow American who beat her in the quarter-finals of the French Open last month and who plays her in the quarters here next.

Capriati swatted aside Russia's 10th seed Nadia Petrova 6-4 6-4 in the fourth round.

"First, I served well and returned well enough, just solid," she said. "I just played solid. You know, I just tried to keep the balls long, deep. And then also I did mix it up.

"I think I just hung in there pretty good and did everything just a little bit better and really was just more solid out there."

Also in the top half French fourth seed Amelie Mauresmo moved into the quarters, outfoxing Italy's Silvia Farina Elia 7-5 6-3.

She will face Paola Suarez next after the Argentine beat Italy's Rita Grande.