Wimbledon 2013: Stars off to Red-Hot Starts

Wimbledon has seen some big stars withdraw or bounced early this year but there are several stars cruising through the first four days.

Some of tennis' most recognizable names on both the men's and women's side took home victories on Day 4, moving one step closer to the finals. Let's take a look at some names that are making the first days of Wimbledon look like practice at their local YMCA.

Serena Williams

Top-seeded Serena Williams took down Caroline Garcia in the second round, winning 6-3, 6-2. The victory came just two days after defeating Mandy Minella 6-1, 6-3 in the first round.

Williams has yet to drop more than three games in a set in her current run to a second straight Wimbledon title. She will face 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm in the next round in a women's field that has lost premier talent early in the tournament.

Maria Sharapova was upset in the second round by Michelle Larcher de Brito. Victoria Azarenka was forced to withdraw due to injury before playing her second round match. The veteran Azarenka told Simon Briggs and Ben Rumsby of The Daily Telegraph she was displeased with the court conditions, saying:

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"So I don’t know if it’s the court or the weather. I can’t figure it out. It would be great if the club or somebody who takes care of the court just would examine or try to find an issue so that wouldn’t happen."

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The conditions at the All England Club have not faltered Williams in the least so far this tournament. With top competitors Sharapova and Azarenka no longer factors for Williams, her path to the final match seems to be a manageable one.

Novak Djokovic

On the men's side, Novak Djokovic is doing his best Serena Williams impression. That or he's just showing his competitors why he's the top-ranked male tennis player in the world.

Djokovic won his second round bout with Bobby Reynolds 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, 6-1 to advance on in the tournament. Reynolds gave Djokovic a workout for the first set, forcing a tiebreak. After winning that though, Djokovic settled in and the match took just under two hours to complete.

The 2011 Wimbledon champion also defeated Florian Mayer 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in the tournament's first round. There have been some moments where Djoker has been put to the test early but that will only benefit him later on.

His hope of a second Wimbledon title in three years was also helped when Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were upset in the first and second round respectively. Nadal fell to Steve Darcis while Federer couldn't best Sergiy Stakhovsky.

With the other top men's tennis players already out this year, Djokovic just has to be his usual dominant self to grab another Wimbledon title. Even with his early hiccups here and there, the world's No. 1 male has to be the obvious favorite in the tournament.

Juan Martin del Potro

Juan Martin del Potro has never advanced past the fourth round in his career playing at Wimbledon. He's doing his best to make tennis fans forget that fact as he has already advanced to the third round.

Del Potro defeated Albert Ramos 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 in the first round and Jesse Levine 6-2, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 in the second round.

Having to go to a tiebreak in the first round of the tournament likely scared off some wondering if the Argentine could make it to the finals this year. Del Potro answered by defeating Levine 6-3 in the following set and didn't have much trouble with Ramos in the following round.

Don't forget that it was del Potro who defeated Djokovic to earn his 2012 Summer Olympics bronze medal in London. England has been kind to del Potro recently and perhaps that will continue as Wimbledon progresses this year. So far though, it's been smooth sailing for the bronze medalist.