Three-time champion Serena Williams was a lopsided second-round winner Thursday at the U.S. Open.
The 28th-seeded former world No. 1 star flattened Dutchwoman Michaella Krajicek 6-0, 6-1 in a mere 49 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The 13-time Grand Slam champ closed out the uneventful affair with her 10th ace on a breezy afternoon in Flushing.
Krajicek is the half-sister of former men's Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek.
The 29-year-old Williams is now riding a 14-match overall winning streak, all on hardcourts, which includes a pair of titles.
Williams will meet the Victoria Azarenka-Gisela Dulko victor in the round of 32.
Seventh-seeded gritty Italian Francesca Schiavone rolled into the third round with a 6-1, 6-1 pasting of Croat Mirjana Lucic, while 10th-seeded rising German Andrea Petkovic overcame diminutive Chinese Zheng Jie 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. The 31-year-old Schiavone was this year's French Open runner-up and last year's French Open champ.
Up next for Schiavone will be South African Chanelle Scheepers.
Former U.S. Open runner-up Jelena Jankovic advanced on Day 4 of the fortnight with a 6-3, 6-4 handling of former top-10 player Jelena Dokic of Australia. The former world No. 1 Jankovic, of Serbia, was the 2008 U.S. Open runner-up to Williams.
Meanwhile, 17th-seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova held off Croat Petra Martic 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 18th-seeded Italian Roberta Vinci vaulted past France's Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-3, and little-known Spaniard Silvia Soler-Espinosa dismissed 31st seed Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-4, 6-2 on the grounds at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Pavlyuchenkova should have her hands full with Jankovic in her next outing.
In battles featuring non-seeds, the aforementioned Scheepers handled German Mona Barthel 6-4, 7-5 and Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro bested Romanian Simona Halep 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. The 19-year-old Halep stunned French Open champion and Aussie Open runner-up Li Na in her opening match this week.
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