Wednesday, 16 May, 2007

Serena Williams eased into the third round of the Italian Open on Tuesday with 6-4 6-1 victory over Michaella Krajicek.

Taking to the court for the first time in over a month, the eighth-seeded American showed no signs of her recent injury problems and did not face a break point against her Dutch opponent.

She will now meet the winner of Wednesday's second-round match between Israel's Shahar Peer and Japan's Ai Sugiyama - neither of whom has ever beaten Williams.

The winner in Rome in 2002, Williams has not played since winning a Fed Cup match in Florida on April 22. In her last WTA appearance on April 15, Williams suffered a groin injury in a claycourt event at Charleston and retired in the first round.

Amelie Mauresmo, the top seed from France, learned her second-round opponent on Tuesday when Australia's Samantha Stosur easily dispatched Italian Francesca Schiavone 6-3 6-4.

Mauresmo and Stosur met in Rome in the second round in 2005. Mauresmo made quick work of Stosur 6-2 6-0 en route to her second title at this event.

Fourteenth seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, who lost in the 2005 final to Mauresmo, advanced to the second round with a 6-1 6-2 victory over Vasilisa Bardina of Russia on Tuesday.

On the other side of the draw, second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia will face Italy's Mara Santangelo in the second round. Santangelo defeated Japan's Akiko Morigami 6-2 6-0.

Kuznetsova, who was beaten in the semi-finals here last year by Russia's Dinara Safina, lost in last week's Berlin final to Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and has yet to win a tournament in 2007. The sixth-seeded Safina will meet Estonia's Kaia Kanepi, who defeated Spain's Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-3 6-3 in the second round and could face Kuznetsova in the quarter-finals.

In other first-round action on Tuesday, Italy's Tathiana Garbin, France's Nathalie Dechy, Ukraine's Yuliana Fedak and Austria's Sybille Bammer all advanced.

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Williams progresses on Rome return
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