• Internazionali BNL d'Italia

Venus outguns Stosur in Rome

Venus Williams served five aces in her win over Sam Stosur © PA Photos

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Venus Williams boosted her hopes of securing a place at this summer's Olympic Games after she defeated fifth seed Sam Stosur at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.

Williams, who is on the comeback trail after being diagnosed with auto-immune disease Sjogren's Syndrome, avenged her defeat to the Australian at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston with an emphatic 6-4 6-3 victory at the Foro Italico.

In a contest between two of the biggest servers in the women's game, there were ten breaks as the pair struggled to hold onto their service games, but it was the American wildcard that upset the form book as she secured victory in a little over an hour-and-a-half.

As well as securing a return to the world's top 50, Williams' win will see her sister leapfrog Stosur as world No. 5. Next up for Williams in the quarter-finals is the Maria Sharapova, who beat Ana Ivanovic.

In the battle of the former world No. 1s, it was the Russian who triumphed 7-6(4) 6-3. Ivanovic was more than competitive in the contest, but was hampered by her first serve, which was too unreliable to conquer a player of Sharapova's quality. Ivanovic was on the mark with less than half of her first deliveries, and she lost her serve on seven occasions, which was a bridge too far to recover from.

Meanwhile, fourth seed Petra Kvitova survived a mid-match wobble as she overcame Romania's Sorana Cirstea 6-2 5-7 6-2.

Kvitova cruised through the opening set but was pegged back as Cirstea levelled the contest to force a decider. However, the Wimbledon champion rediscovered her form to power to victory to set up a quarter-final clash with Angelique Kerber, who sailed past fellow German Julia Goerges 6-4 6-1.

Ninth seed Serena Williams followed sister Venus into the next round, hammering Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3 6-1 in 76 minutes.

Elsewhere, there were wins for Na Li and Flavia Pennetta.

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