WIMBLEDON, England — Hobbled and hurting and essentially playing on one leg, Serena Williams managed to gut out a three-set victory at Wimbledon yesterday against an opponent who helped by fading right along with the daylight.

Williams crumpled to the grass in the second set with a left calf injury, was treated on court, then kept on playing, barely able to move. Given a reprieve by a nearly two-hour rain delay, Williams returned to compete, over her mother's protests.

And she won, prolonging her bid for a third title at the All England Club by getting past No. 10-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-2, to set up a quarterfinal showdown against No. 1 Justine Henin.

When Hantuchova dumped a backhand into the net for the last of her 28 unforced errors, Williams blew a kiss to the charcoal-colored clouds above Centre Court.

"I thought about not finishing, but very briefly. I thought I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hadn't at least tried," the No. 7 Williams said. "I've never dealt with such pain. I can't believe — I can't believe I won, really."

It was, in many respects, an all-around startling day at Wimbledon, particularly for the Williams family.

Serena's older sister Venus double-faulted 14 times, faced 23 break points, trailed 5-3 in the final set and still figured out a way to beat Akiko Morigami of Japan, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, in a match suspended because of rain Saturday.

"Two crazy matches," said Oracene Price, summing up her daughters' day. "I've got to say, they've got fight."

Serena and Venus Williams have won a combined 13 Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon. Venus will face 2004 champion Maria Sharapova today for a quarterfinal berth.

If she's able to play, Serena will meet Henin in a rematch from last month's French Open, where the Belgian won their quarterfinal en route to the title. Henin, trying to complete a career Grand Slam at Wimbledon, beat No. 15 Patty Schnyder, 6-2, 6-2.

Hantuchova had just hit a forehand winner to make the score 5-5, 30-15 in the second set when Serena, walking along the baseline, suddenly felt a grab in her lower left leg. She whacked herself in the calf three times with her racket, then clutched at the muscle and sprawled on the ground.

The 2002 and 2003 Wimbledon champion was down for more than five minutes, grimacing and dropping her head in the grass while a trainer massaged her calf and applied ice. It was diagnosed as a spasm-induced calf strain.

Eventually, play continued, but Serena limped around, sometimes struggling merely to walk. After Hantuchova went up 6-5, Serena somehow held serve to force a tiebreaker, getting to 6-all with a 110 mph ace and a shriek. With Hantuchova up 4-2 in the tiebreaker, a drizzle forced a suspension.

"I was definitely saved by the rain," Serena would say later. "I couldn't move before the rain. Just everything stopped."

When play resumed, both of her calves were taped heavily.

After Hantuchova won the tiebreaker, Serena opened the third set with two aces and a service winner, reaching 120 mph. Still, she ran stiffly and occasionally paused to stretch her bothersome calf.

Serena broke for a 4-2 edge when Hantuchova missed a backhand, served an ace to make it 5-2, then broke again to reach her 20th Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Three-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal led Robin Soderling 2-0 in the fifth when showers forced play to stop for the day.

Three other men's third-round matches were halted in progress.