Wimbledon 2012 Results: A Glimpse at Thursday's Most Exciting Women's Matches

While Rafael Nadal battled for his Wimbledon life on the men's side (and lost), there was plenty of excitement as the women battled it out.

On Thursday, Serena Williams continued her dominance in her quest to represent the Williams family in the final, while top-seeded Maria Sharapova didn't have quite as easy an afternoon.

Defending champion Petra Kvitova made quick work of her opponent once again and continued to look like at least one of the women to beat this year.

Here's a look at some of the exciting outcomes from Thursday's action. You can view a full list of results here.

Maria Sharapova def. Tsvetana Pironkova 7-6, 6-7, 6-0

It wasn't easy, but Maria Sharapova—in her quest to win for the first time at Wimbledon since she was 17 years old in 2004—managed to advance to the third round after taking down Tsvetana Pironkova.

Sharapova certainly didn't expect it to be easy—she knew Pironkova was known for her upset potential, and she was adequately on guard and managed to win the tiebreaker in the first set.

The world No. 1 got off to a slow start against Pironkova and knows she can't keep doing that if she wants to be standing during the final. After the match, she told the Daily Telegraph:

"

She came out firing both yesterday and today. I couldn't get much rhythm but I was really happy I stepped it up in the third set. I was a little bit tentative, I was not being aggressive enough, and against someone who loves to play on grass. But I tried not to focus on her game, it was more about what I had to do.

"

The grueling match lasted almost two-and-a-half hours and resumed on Thursday morning after being called on Wednesday. 

Serena Williams def. Melinda Czink 6-1, 6-4

After easily dispatching Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in the first round 6-2, 6-4, Serena Williams made equally easy work of her second-round opponent, breezing through the matchup in just over an hour.

She made only eight unforced errors and won 27 of 28 points on her first serve. She now looks to be one of the most intimidating possible opponents heading into the third round.  

The No. 6 seed has played in 12 Wimbledon championships and has won four of them, the last of which came in 2010. She and Sharapova are on opposite sides of the bracket, so next week, we may get to see them meet for the right to stay alive.

Sharapova could have to go through Serena to win, just like she did in 2004.

Petra Kvitova def. Elena Baltacha 6-0, 6-4

Like Williams, the defending Wimbledon champion had no trouble with her second-round opponent. And like Williams, she's looked incredibly strong throughout the first couple of days of this year's tournament: She took down Akgul Amanmuradova 6-4, 6-4 in the first round.

The first set lasted only 22 minutes, and Elena Baltacha managed to win just four games as her bid to become the first British woman to reach the last 16 came to a screeching halt.

Now, the fourth-seeded Petra Kvitova will move on to face Varvara Lepchenko in the fourth round in the hopes of advancing far enough to face Sharapova once again. Last year, Kvitova beat Sharapova in the final, but this year, she hasn't looked as strong, as she has failed to reach the final of a tournament.