Williams wins through

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:44

The second seed raced through the first set 6-1 before her Ukrainian opponent presented a stiffer challenge in the second although Williams still prevailed to complete a 6-1 6-4 victory.

The American had a 79% success rate on her first serve compared to her rival who barely crept over 50%.

Williams could also afford to win just four out of her 10 break points and is in pole position, with top seed Dinara Safina and her sister Venus already having been sent out of the competition.

Fourth seed Elena Dementieva also made it through but had to overcome the loss of the second set to Shahar Peer of Israel.

The Russian raced through the first set 6-1 against the world number 68 but then fell apart to lose the second by the same margin.

The decider was far closer, Dementieva eventually winning 6-4 to claim a hard-fought victory after appearing on course for an easy win.

As the scoreline suggests, the world number five produced a mixed game with five double faults and just six out of 22 break points won.

Now get the WORLD’S BEST TENNIS MAGAZINE here