Wimbledon PHOTOS: Serena knocked out by Cornet

Top seed Serena Williams' challenge for a sixth Wimbledon singles title fizzled out with a shock 1-6 6-3, 6-4 defeat by France's Alize Cornet on Saturday.

The 32-year-old American was untroubled in the first set but her game disintegrated as 25th seed Cornet took control in front of a stunned crowd on Court One.

Persistent rain at the All England Club meant only two games were possible when play started and when the players returned four hours later it was Williams who looked determined to make up for lost time with some powerful tennis.

The 24-year-old Cornet refused to fade away though and with Williams looking uncomfortable moving on the grass she took the second set with some accurate shot-making.

A desperate-looking Williams dropped serve at 2-2 in the decider and then again two games later and Cornet held her nerve to reach the last 16.

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Maria Sharapova hit top gear under a closed Centre Court roof at a rain-hit Wimbledon as she won 11 games on the trot to cruise past American Alison Riske 6-3, 6-0 to reach the fourth round on Saturday.

The fifth seed, bidding for a French Open-Wimbledon double, made a shaky start as she was broken by Riske in the first game but soon found her rhythm.

Sharapova, who exited in the second round last year, showed her class by producing scorching passing shots against a net-charging Riske and has now lost only seven games in three matches.

She will continue her bid to win a second Wimbledon title against either German ninth seed Angelique Kerber or Belgian Kirsten Flipkens.

Rafael Nadal has made a habit this week of giving himself a tough start and in Saturday's third round he again handed the first set to a lowly opponent before imposing himself at Wimbledon.

The French Open champion, still apparently finding his grass court feet after the long claycourt season, moved into the fourth round with a 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 victory over 63rd-ranked Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin.

Kukushkin, 26, had never won a game at Wimbledon before this year but, with little to lose against the world number one, came out guns blazing, using a big first serve and pounding forehand to keep the Spaniard at bay and win the first-set tiebreak.

But it did not last. As soon as Nadal found his returning rhythm and stepped in to punish Kukushkin's second serve it was one way traffic. The 14-times grand slam champion reached Wimbledon's second week for the first time since 2011 with a forehand winner.

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Seven-times champion Roger Federer needed just 81 minutes to breeze through to the fourth-round of Wimbledon with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 victory against Colombia's Santiago Giraldo on Saturday.

The 32-year-old has yet to drop a set at this year's championships and was again in impressive form despite some careless unforced errors.

Federer wasted little time imposing himself on 35th ranked Giraldo, breaking serve at the first attempt.

The Swiss galloped through the second set and although his south American opponent held him up a little in the third he was never remotely troubled as he powered into the last 16.