On the day when the final top 10 seed in the women's draw at Wimbledon headed home, Serena Williams secured a quarterfinal spot. Coming into the tournament seeded 25, Williams has returned to form in spectacular fashion.

With every passing round Williams has grown in strength and confidence. It took just 62 minutes for her to defeat Russian qualifier Evgeniya Rodina 6-2, 6-2. Rodina called Williams her idol and one look at Williams' performance it was clear to see why.

"I knew we were both moms, and I'm not sure how often that's happened, if ever. So it's really cool. You can be a mom, you can still play tennis and you can still be great," Williams said afterwards.

This is Williams' 18th consecutive win at the Championships - she missed last year's tournament as she prepared to have her first child. It also means she now has 90 Wimbledon wins, the most amongst active female players and she has not dropped a set yet in this tournament. Suddenly, Williams looks as great as the eight Wimbledon titles suggest she is.

The worst news for her next opponent, Italy's Camila Giorgi, is that Serena believes there is more to come. "I'm a perfectionist, I always find something," the 36-year-old said when asked about her near-flawless display.

The absence of the top 10 seeds leaves the tournament open, but for some that is no surprise.

"If we look back to the other Grand Slams in the last one or two years, we've always got surprises," said Germany's Julia Görges when asked about it. Görges' first five Wimbledon campaigns ended in the first round, but this year the 29-year-old reached the quarterfinals with a straight set victory against Donna Vekic.

The highest seed left in the draw is Görges international teammate, Angelique Kerber. The number 11 seed overcame a determined Belinda Bencic 6-3, 7-6 and, like Görges, will fancy her chances at upsetting Williams' charge to the title.

Elsewhere

The same could be said of both Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, who, like Serena, continue to find new levels of quality despite their relative age in tennis.

Federer needed just 16 minutes to win the first set and the Swiss never looked back. Federer secured his spot in the quarterfinals having won 32 consecutive sets at Wimbledon. Nadal reached his first Wimbledon quarterfinal since 2011, winning in straight sets, and will have to beat Juan Martin del Potro or Gilles Simon to make the semifinals. Argentinean del Potro was up two sets to one when bad light stopped play on Monday evening.

Japan's Kei Nishikori beat Ernests Gulbis in four sets to set up a match-up with Novak Djokovic, who has quietly been playing well at the tournament. John Isner, Kevin Anderson and Milos Raonic also secured spots in the quarterfinals.