Serena crushes doubles specialist Vinci to reach quarters

Reuters: World number one Serena Williams reached the quarter-finals of the French Open for the first time since 2010 with an easy 6-1 6-3 win over top-ranked doubles player Roberta Vinci on Sunday. It was Williams’ 28th straight victory and underlined her title potential as her superior power overwhelmed her Italian challenger.

She coped better with the blustery conditions on Philippe Chatrier Court and broke three times to take the first set.

Vinci, who has won three grand slam doubles titles with last year’s French Open finalist Sara Errani, tried to move her opponent round the court to compensate for her lack of weapons, and put up a better fight in the second set. But on the crucial points, she came up short and succumbed in one hour, 10 minutes.

Williams, who won her only Roland Garros title in 2002, will face another former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the last eight.