Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva today totally outclassed Russian compatriot Elena Vesnina to reach the quarter-finals of the women's singles at sun-drenched Wimbledon.

Dementieva, the fourth seed beaten in last summer's semi-finals by eventual champion Venus Williams, had lost just 12 games in her three matches leading to this fourth-round clash on the new Court No2.

And the 27-year-old maintained her domineering form with a 6-1, 6-3 thumping of Vesnina that took just 70 minutes in soaring temperatures that saw the players having to resort to putting ice on their heads during each changeover.

The writing was on the wall as early as the second game when Dementieva broke her rival's serve.

Her backhand return cross court was a peach which Vesnina, at full stretch, could only put into the net.

The form book had suggested Vesnina would struggle.

The 23-year-old may have put out 14th seed Dominika Cibulkova, of Slovakia, in the last round but she had lost both her previous meetings with Dementieva.

The last time they battled was in the final on a hard court in Auckland, which Dementieva won.

She continued that good form in Sydney the following week beating Dinara Safina in the final.

At least Vesnina avoided the humiliation of losing the first set to love, saving a break point in the sixth game when Dementieva could only net a powerful serve.

But it was back to business in the next game when Vesnina smashed into the net with Dementieva's court at her mercy.

That created two break points, but Dementieva required only one to clinch the set in one minute under the half-hour.

Serving with new balls at the start of the second set Vesnina, more at home on clay than the grass of the All England Club, held her serve to love.

But the in-form Dementieva quickly quelled any thoughts of a fightback in the next game as she again worked her rival along the baseline, making her chase wider and wider angles until forced into a succession of errors that ultimately cost her opponent the match.