Clijsters, Venus, Stosur All Reach US Open

(NewsCore) - Reigning champion Kim Clijsters rolled into the U.S. Open quarter-finals Sunday while third seed Venus Williams booked a date with French Open champion Francesca Schiavone to decide a semi-final spot.

Belgian second seed Clijsters needed only 59 minutes to eliminate Serbian former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic 6-2 6-1 for her 18th victory in a row on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts, her 2005 and 2009 titles flanking a hiatus.

Clijsters reached her fifth U.S. Open quarter-final and 17th career grand slam quarter-final by quickly adapting to breezy conditions.

"The wind, it's something you can either look at as frustrating or as something that tactically can help you maybe a little bit," she said. "Once I was up 3-1, I felt like I was dictating really well during the points."

Italian sixth seed Schiavone ousted 20th-seeded Russian teen Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3 6-0 in 68 minutes, matching her best U.S. Open showing from 2003 in a year that also saw her win her first slam in June on the Paris clay.

"I feel better than I was at French Open," Schiavone said. "It's very special. I'm very lucky to play so well again in a tournament like this."

Williams downed Israeli 16th seed Shahar Peer 7-6 (7-3) 6-3. The seven-time grand slam champion and two-time U.S. Open winner will carry a 7-0 career edge against Schiavone into their match-up.

"Her game is better than ever now," Williams said. "I'm hoping my experience will help me like it did today."

Clijsters will next face fifth seed Samantha Stosur, who became the first Australian woman to reach the U.S. Open quarter-finals since Wendy Turnbull in 1986.

Stosur, the French Open runner up, reached the last eight with a 6-3 6-2 7-7 (7-2) win against Russian 12th seed Elena Dementieva, with the match running into the early hours of Monday morning.

Clijsters broke for a 3-1 edge against Ivanovic, then exchanged breaks in the next two games before breaking the Serbian to conclude the first set in 31 minutes.

She then broke Ivanovic's first two service games of the second set for a 4-0 edge. The Serb broke back but double faulted away a break to give Clijsters a 5-1 edge and the Belgian held for the victory.

"She was playing with a lot of confidence," Clijsters said. "I knew if I could just stay with her, make her once in a while doubt a little bit [I could] get her to make the mistakes."

Ivanovic has struggled since winning the 2008 French Open title, having not reached a grand slam quarter-final since and missing out Sunday on a chance for her first U.S. Open quarter-final.

"It all kind of came crashing down. I lost my way a little bit," she said.

"But I'm really happy about the way I'm playing and practicing. I feel like I'm doing well and I can't let this match set me back. I just have to work hard and stay focused and believe I can get back to the top."

Copyright 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.