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NEW YORK - Two-time former champion Serena Williams advanced to the US Open tennis quarterfinals with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Marion Bartoli today, raising her game in time for another possible championship run.
The eighth seeded Williams had 10 aces, landed 73 per cent of her first
serves and blasted 32 winners against the Wimbledon finalist to play her best match of the tournament.
"Each match I feel like I've gotten better," Williams said.
"I'm still not near where I want to be. But I feel like I'm doing better, which is important."
Serena's sister, Venus, also seeking her third Open championship, continued her stellar play with a 6-4 6-2 triumph over French Open finalist Ana Ivanovic.
Venus, who never lost her serve during the 80-minute affair, will play either Austrian Sybille Bammer or third seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in the quarterfinals.
On the men's side, Rafael Nadal said he continued to suffer from nagging injuries to both knees but it never showed during a 7-6 6-2 6-1 win over Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Nadal had only 14 unforced errors and never lost his serve against the 74th-ranked Tsonga.
"It was important for me to win in straight sets," the second seeded Spaniard said.
"For my knees it's better because I can be a little bit more relaxed for the next match."
In the fourth round, Nadal will face compatriot David Ferrer, who needed just under four hours to beat Argentine David Nalbandian 6-3 3-6 4-6 7-6 7-5.
In a mild upset, Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela tamed Croatian 12th seed Ivan Ljubicic 6-4 6-7 2-6 6-3 6-3 in three hours 44 minutes.
The hard-hitting Ljubicic had 80 winners and 64 unforced errors but was unable to close out the steadier Chela, the 20th seed who had just seven errors in the final two sets.
Serena's form had been patchy during her first three matches, even though she had not lost a set.
But against Bartoli, her play improved dramatically.
Bartoli had trouble with Serena's serve, breaking the American only once during the 76min match.
"When it's coming 125 miles (an hour) or something, I didn't even see the ball coming up," the Frenchwoman said.
"I can't see if it's a middle or side serve it's coming so fast."
If world No 1 Justine Henin beats Dinara Safina later today, she will face Serena in a highly anticipated quarterfinal.
Henin, the 2003 Open champion, eliminated Serena in both the French Open and Wimbledon quarterfinals this year.
"I'm going in feeling like I don't have anything to lose," Serena said.
"I'm excited about the prospect of meeting her again. She's playing well and fighting for everything. She believes that she can win."
- REUTERS