• WTA

Serena rolls on at Bank of the West Classic

ESPN staff
July 12, 2012
Serena Williams cruised to victory © Getty Images
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Serena Williams claimed a comfortable victory in her first outing since taking the Wimbledon title last week, as she marched into the quarter-finals of the Bank of the West Classic.

Williams recorded a 6-2 6-1 win over college student Nicole Gibbs on Wednesday, remaining on target to defend her title. Despite appearing lethargic at different times throughout the encounter, Williams' heavy groundstrokes proved too much for her inexperienced opponent.

Top seed for the tournament, Williams was never genuinely troubled. However, Gibbs provided a brief scare in the opening set when she ripped a backhand winner to make it 5-2. It was not enough to stop the Williams juggernaut from rolling on, though, as the 14-time grand slam winner cruised to victory in 62 minutes.

She will now face sixth-seeded Russia's Chanelle Scheepers in the quarter-finals on Friday. Scheepers beat Portugal's Michelle Larcher De Brito 6-3 6-4 in the second round.

There was disappointment in the second round for Heather Watson. The Brit went down 5-7 6-1 6-4 to Yanina Wickmayer, who launched seven aces during the tight contest.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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