Seven-times grand slam champion Venus Williams breezed into the quarter-finals of the Dubai Championships with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Frenchwoman Alize Cornet on Wednesday. Virginie Razzano of France followed up her win over second seed Dinara Safina by beating Slovak Daniela Hantuchova 6-2 1-6 6-2 while holder Elena Dementieva of Russia put out Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1 6-3.
Sixth seed Williams was always in control against Cornet and was especially dominant early in the second set, surrendering just two points in four games from 1-1. "I missed a few shots long (today) and was a little upset about that but I managed to rein it in," the American told reporters. "She is obviously a really good player with a lot of potential.
"I'm sure she didn't play the way she wanted but I think I was able to put some pressure on her." Eighth-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic put out Frenchwoman Camille Pin 6-2 7-6. Fifth-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva advanced after Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli retired with blisters on both feet when trailing 5-2 in the first set. Russian qualifier Elena Vesnina went through 4-6 6-1 4-0 when 12th-seeded Slovak Dominika Cibulkova retired through illness.