Zheng Jie put up an "unbelievable" fight against Serena Williams, the four-time Wimbledon champion admitted, but was just edged out in a final set thriller on Saturday.
China's Zheng Jie plays a forehand shot during her third round women's singles match against US player Serena Williams on day six of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships tennis tournament in London. The Chinese 25th seed lost 6-7 (7/5), 6-2, 9-7.
The Chinese 25th seed lost 6-7 (7/5), 6-2, 9-7 in a third round battle on Centre Court and gave Williams plenty to think about with an impressive display of grasscourt tennis.
But the sixth seed's experience told, leaving Peng Shuai as the only Chinese player to make it through to the fourth round at the All England Club.
Elsewhere, Kei Nishikori's best-ever Wimbledon run ended with a third round, straight-sets defeat to Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro.
And India's French Open mixed doubles champions Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza of India crashed out in the second round.
In 2008, Zheng became the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam semi-final, before Williams halted her progress.
The 28-year-old came so close to exacting revenge.
"I really wanted to win this match, because I remember this is my third time against her at Wimbledon, the Centre Court, so, I'm looking for what is today, I think, very close to a win," she told AFP.
Williams said she had to dig "pretty deep" to beat Zheng.
"She's always playing really well, especially on the grass. She really should be ranked higher than what she is," the 30-year-old said.
"I felt like she started hitting some amazing returns in the last game. I was like, 'I just want to get this over'.
"She played really well, I think she played unbelievable."
On Court One, 19th seed Nishikori was beaten 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 by former US Open champion Del Potro, meaning the Japanese singles challenge at Wimbledon is over for this year.
Nishikori, 22, was the first Japanese man to reach the last 32 at Wimbledon for 17 years.
"Nishikori is playing much better than two or three years ago, and he's still playing better and better. So he could be very dangerous for the rest of the players," ninth seed Del Potro said.
Meanwhile Bhupathi and Mirza crashed out in the second round.
The defeat is a blow to their preparations ahead of the London 2012 Olympic tennis tournament, which gets under way at the All England Club next month, though a spat with Leander Paes has already rocked India's build-up.
They were beaten 6-3, 6-1 by Paul Hanley of Australia and Russia's Alla Kudryavtseva on Court 5.
Just metres away on Court 6, Paes was playing in the men's doubles, with Czech partner Radek Stepanek.
The fourth seeds beat the Israeli duo Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) in a second round tie.
Elsewhere in the round, Thai brothers Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana lost 6-2, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/2) to fifth seeds Robert Lindstedt of Sweden and Horia Tecau of Romania.
Digital Newspapers and the Elements of Success
What Is a Digital Newspaper?
As the digital age continues to thrive and transform many aspects of our daily lives, many businesses like newspapers have to adapt to the ever-changing landscapes to survive. In this age, less people are willing to pay for printed editions since a plethora of articles, publications and other resources are readily available on the internet, without need of subscriptions.
In order to retain their readers, many newspaper companies worldwide...
Digital newspaper is a digitalized version of a printed newspaper but usually with more content and interactive features. It is available on the internet, or as a copy on various digital platforms, such as smart phones and computer tablets.
In a first round match, Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun and his German partner Alexander Waske lost 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Belgian pair Xavier Malisse and Dick Norman.
But there was some good news for Taiwan as Hsieh Su-Wei and her German partner Sabine Lisicki beat Romanian 15th seeds Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Nicolescu 6-3, 2-0 (retired) in the women's doubles second round.
In the mixed doubles, there was also some good fortune for Zheng despite her singles defeat.
She and her Indian partner Rohan Bopanna, the 10th seeds, went through to the third round on a walkover.
In the first round, China's Shuai Zhang and her Mexican partner Santiago Gonzalez were beaten 6-4, 7-5 by Mikhail Elgin of Russia and Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva.