Melbourne, Jan 21: Serena Williams continued her run toward a third consecutive major title by beating Maria Kirilenko 6-2, 6-0 on Monday to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
Williams has lost only one match since her first-round exit at the French Open last year. Since then, she has won the Wimbledon, Olympic, U.S. Open, season-ending championship and Brisbane International titles.
Her 57-minute win over Kirilenko extended her current winning streak to 20 matches.
The 31-year-old Williams can become the oldest woman to hold the world No. 1-ranking by winning her sixth Australian Open title.
She next plays 19-year-old American Sloane Stephens, who reached the quarterfinals at a major for the first time with a 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 win earlier Monday over Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia.
