Top seed Venus Williams continued her surge in form as she moved into the quarter-finals of the WTA Bank of West Classic after scoring a 6-3 6-7 6-2 win over Magda Linette.
Playing her first tournament since the runner-up finish at the Wimbledon Championships recently, the 36-year-old American faced little resistance from her 87th-ranked opponent throughout the second-round battle that lasted two hours and 14 minutes on the hard courts of Stanford.
Venus served out the opening set by consolidating her serve throughout. The duo exchanged two breaks each in the second set before Linette won the tie-breaker to force the decider. Venus, then, appeared at her usual best in the third to seal the match.
Up next for her awaits the winner of an all-American contest between qualifier Sachia Vickery and wildcard CiCi Bellis, for a place in the last-four stage.
Elsewhere, third-seeded Johanna Konta of Great Britain unleashed 11 aces to roll over local challenger Julia Boserup, winning 6-3 6-1 in just a minute over an hour. She next meets China’s Saisai Zheng, who stunned No. 7 seed Alize Cornet 6-4 6-1.
Also to enter the last-eight stage was Japan’s fifth seed Misaki Doi, who pulled off a 6-3 6-4 conquest of countrywoman Nao Hibino in a 75-minute contest.
