Defending champion Serena Williams cruised into the quarter-finals of the US Open on Sunday with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.
The second seed will play either Vera Zvonareva of Russia or Flavia Pennetta of Italy for a place in the semi-finals.
It was a routine win for the tournament favourite in stark contrast to the trials and tribulations of several of her main contenders, especially the Russian brigade of top seed Dinara Safina, Maria Sharapova and Elene Dementieva who were all upset.
The 27-year-old Williams broke serve in the sixth and eighth games of the first set against the Slovak, who was playing in her 35th Grand Slam event and with just one semi-final showing, at the 2008 Australian Open, to show for it.
The second set was one-way traffic as the title-holder made it 10 games in a row to march into the semi-finals in just 64 minutes.
“Daniela is such a good player and I knew I had to be serious as she always gives me trouble,” Williams said.
With the win, Williams took her Grand Slam record for the year to 22-1, her only loss being to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the French Open quarter-finals. She won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon crowns taking her career Grand Slam total to 11.
{{/usCountry}}With the win, Williams took her Grand Slam record for the year to 22-1, her only loss being to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the French Open quarter-finals. She won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon crowns taking her career Grand Slam total to 11.
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