Williams whiffed on a forehand and was often bested in long rallies, but serves at up to 128 mph kept her in control, and she was never broken.
“On the bigger points, especially on my serve, I thought I played those really well,” Williams said. “I think that was key.”
The defending women’s champion, sixth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, overcame four matches points in the second set and beat Andrea Petkovic 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. Petkovic committed unforced errors on all four points.
Williams improved to 14-2 on clay in 2010. She’s seeded second behind her younger sister Serena, who scouted while sitting next to their father. The sisters could meet in the final.
No. 26 Dominika Cibulkova rallied past American Varvara Lepchenko 4-6, 6-2, 6-0. Cibulkova, a semifinalist last year, faces Williams next.
“I’ll continue to try to execute my game and not worry really a ton about what my opponent is doing,” Williams said.
Two-time semifinalist Nadia Petrova, seeded 19th, beat Agnes Szavay 6-1, 6-2. No. 14 Flavia Pennetta defeated Roberta Vinci 6-1, 6-1.
Serena wins marathonDepor ace talks stall
