BASTAD — World number one Serena Williams survived a late second set hiccup to move into the quarter-finals of the Swedish Open with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Georgia’s Anna Tatishvili.
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The American star remains unbeaten on clay this season after winning 25 straight matches including a perfect run on the way to her second French Open title and 16th Grand Slam singles crown in June.
She now faces 32-year-old Spaniard Lourdes Dominguez Lino who came into the tournament ranked 54 in the world and seeking a third WTA victory, both on clay.
Williams was cruising after sealing the first set and easing into a 5-0 second set lead before wasting three match points and finally closing out the match 6-3.
“I’ve had a lot of time here but I’ve actually been spending a lot of time in the room, just staying focused on the event,” Williams said. “My main goal is to do well here. I love this city, but I really love the fans, and I feel like I want to do the best that I can here. I’m staying really focused, Grand Slam style.”
The other quarter-final match-ups feature Dutch hope Richel Hogenkamp against Czech Republic third seed Klara Zakopalova while French veteran Virginie Razzano takes on Italy’s Flavia Penneta.
Pennetta was 2-0 up in the final set against second seed Simona Halep in their second round match before the Romanian retired injured.
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The final last eight tie sees the only Swedish player remaining in the draw, eighth seeded Johanna Larsson taking on Frenchwoman Mathilde Johansson.
