WIMBLEDON, England -- In her first match in defense of the 2022 title, Elena Rybakina was extremely anxious.

There was the pressure of repeating, of course, but also a greater force working on her psyche. With all due respect to the newly crowned Charles III, the King of Wimbledon was sitting, appropriately, in the Royal Box: Eight-time champion Roger Federer.

“I really like Roger,” Rybakina said later. “Yeah, maybe that’s why I was nervous. When I was younger, I was always watching him play. The year after to be again on this court with the same crowd; it was really special. First matches, I think they’re always tough, I would say, mentally to get to the rhythm of the tournament.”

Wimbledon: Scores | Draws | Order of play

The No.3 seed lost the first set to Shelby Rogers, but won the next two sets, dropping only three games. On Monday, after knocking off the highest-ranked British player Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-1 in under an hour, Rybakina will face her greatest challenge so far -- Beatriz Haddad Maia -- in a fourth-round match.

Surprisingly, Haddad Maia has beaten Rybakina both times they’ve played. Earlier this year, Haddad Maia won their Abu Dhabi quarterfinal in three sets and a Round of 16 match in Stuttgart when Rybakina retired during the second set. The No.13 seed defeated Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-2 in the third round.

Haddad Maia could become the first player to defeat Rybakina three times in the same season.

Lately, Wimbledon has been tough on those seeking to repeat. The last defending champion to reach the fourth round was Serena Williams in 2016. She won the title that year, something Rybakina’s performance so far suggests is very possible.

More from Day 7

Rybakina’s serving brilliantly, a key component to winning at Wimbledon. She’s won 85 percent of her first serves, a ludicrous number and the best of the 128 players who started the tournament. Some 52 percent of her first serves have not been returned, a figure she shares with Ons Jabeur for No.1 among players still left in the draw. Her 23 aces are second only to Aryna Sabalenka’s 26.

In her third Wimbledon appearance, the 24-year-old who represents Kazakhstan has a 13-1 record at the All England Club. Here’s nice club to be in: Those 13 wins in her first 14 at Wimbledon are tied for the Open Era record with Billie Jean King, Evonne Goolagong and Maria Sharapova.

Against Boulter, with a rabid Centre Court crowd pulling for one of its own, Rybakina was typically methodical and stoic.

“Just because I’m calm person,” she told reporters. “This is something I’m like this for long time. Not many matches you can see a lot of emotions. I just think that I’m focused a lot on myself. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes maybe it’s not. Yeah, I would say [it’s] just my personality.”

Haddad Maia, on the other hand, can be fiery. She’s only the second Brazilian to reach the fourth round here -- and the first since Maria Bueno 47 years ago. Fun fact: Only Caroline Garcia has won more on grass than Haddad Maia over the past two seasons, but a win would leave them tied at 21.

Only Anastasia Potapova has won more matches after dropping the first set this year. Haddad Maia has nine, including her first- and second-round matches against Yulia Putintseva and Jaqueline Cristian.

Here’s a look at Monday’s three other fourth-round matches from the bottom half of the draw:

No.2 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No.21 Ekaterina Alexandrova

Sabalenka has won 15 of her 16 Grand Slam singles matches this year, matching the best single-season major win total of her career. She’s the first player since Sofia Kenin in 2020 to win 15 of 16 in majors.

Sabalenka took care of Anna Blinkova 6-2, 6-3, while Alexandrova was a 6-0, 6-4 winner over Dalma Galfi. Alexandrova has a 3-2 head-to-head edge and took the two most recent matches, in the s’Hertogenbosch final last year and the Moscow quarterfinals in 2021.

No.2 Sabalenka powers into Wimbledon Round of 16

No.6 Ons Jabeur vs. Petra Kvitova

Don’t underestimate the two-time Wimbledon champion, for Kvitova holds a commanding 4-1 head-to-head edge. The first match was at Wimbledon four years ago and Kvitova prevailed 6-4, 6-2. Perhaps more relevant, they split their two most recent matches with Jabeur winning last year in Sydney and Kvitova returning the favor in Cincinnati.

On Saturday, Jabeur came back to Bianca Andreescu 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, while Kvitova was a 6-2, 7-5 winner over Natalija Stevanovic.

Jabeur overcomes Andreescu in three sets, returns to Wimbledon Round of 16

No.25 Madison Keys vs. Mirra Andreeva

Andreeva, the 16-year-old sensation, is having an amazing fortnight. After defeating No.22 Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 7-5 there were tears in her eyes because she was into her first major quarterfinal. Including qualifying, Andreeva has now won six consecutive matches here.

Andreeva, ranked No.102, has never played Keys.

Keys eases past Kostyuk into Wimbledon fourth round