Makarova maneuvers back into second week at Wimbledon

LONDON, Great Britain - In a rematch of a quarterfinal from four years ago, Russian Ekaterina Makarova moved back into the second week at Wimbledon with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over Czech Lucie Safarova.

Makarova flipped the script of the last match between the two on grass, where Safarova dropped just four games en route to an appearance in the Wimbledon semifinals, coming from a set down to seal a spot in the round of 16 in an hour and 54 minutes.

Over the course of the first two sets, the pair split the action for the third time in their last three head-to-head meetings, but it was the Russian who broke a three-match winning streak for the Czech against her with an emphatic showing the decider.

The World No.35 took charge of the final set - much as she did in the previous round in upsetting World No.2 Caroline Wozniacki - but had no such troubles in serving out her third round encounter.

Whereas the Russian was pegged back to 5-5 and needed multiple match points to oust Wozniacki in the second round, Makarova was emphatic in serving out a spot in the fourth round for the third time in her career, holding at love and sealing the win with a backhand winner.

Also punching her ticket back to week two was Italian Camila Giorgi, who saved a match point in the second set to end the run of Katerina Siniakova and return to the fourth round.

The Italian last made the second week of Wimbledon in 2012 where she upset seeds Flavia Pennetta and Nadia Petrova before falling to eventual finalist Agnieszka Radwanska. Six years later, she rallied from 6-2, 4-2 down - and a 3-0 deficit in the tiebreak - to win, 2-6, 7-6(6), 6-2. 

With Makarova and Giorgi making returntrips to the fourth round, they'll be joined there by Croatian Donna Vekic, who will feature in the round of 16 for the first time.

The former Nottingham champion continued her form on the grass courts, defeating former US Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer, 7-6(2), 6-1.