New York: Serena Williams breezed into the fourth round of the U.S. Open with a predictably comfortable win over Yaroslava Shvedova on Friday and next up faces one of only three women to beat her this year.
Williams, the top seed and defending champion, beat the 78th-ranked Kazakh 6-3, 6-1 in a match that wrapped up past 1 a.m. local time.
Her next opponent will be American compatriot Sloane Stephens, who pulled off one of the upsets of the year by beating Williams in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
Stephens reached the round of 16 by beating 23rd-seeded Jamie Hampton 6-1, 6-3.
