Williams sisters cruise through and collide in last eight of US Open

Published on Tuesday 2 September 2008 10:01

VENUS and Serena Williams will meet in the quarter-finals of the US Open after cruising through their respective fourth round matches.

Seventh seed Venus downed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 6-3, while her younger sister defeated wild card Severine Bremond of France 6-2, 6-2 to set up their fourth meeting at the US Open. Venus, who won two of the previous three US Open meetings with her sister, continued to roll through the draw, racing through the first set in 32 minutes before shrugging off a bit of a challenge by the 19-year-old in the second.

A two-time US Open winner, Venus advanced to the quarters for the third time in the last four years after being unable to enter in the event in 2006, overcoming 31 unforced errors with 33 winners to improve her record to 2-0 against Radwanska.

The Polish player displayed her nerves early on and was run over in the opening set but she found her form thereafter, nearly forcing a 4-4 tie after taking a 30-40 lead on Venus' serve in the second set.

However, the American was able to battle back and then set up three match points in the ninth game before cashing in on the second when Radwanska's forehand went into the net.

Meanwhile, Serena disposed of Bremond in exactly one hour, hitting 24 winners and making only 11 unforced errors to the French player's 17.

Like her sister a two-time winner of the year's final Grand Slam, 26-year-old Serena has also eased through the competition so far, losing only 14 games in her four wins.

Sixth-seeded Dinara Safina of Russia reached the quarter-finals for the second time in three years with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Anna-Lena Groenefeld. The 22-year-old will next face 16th seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy, who advanced to her first quarter-final at a grand slam by downing a struggling Amelie Mauresmo 6-3, 6-0.