Serena Williams has booked her place in the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters with a straight-sets victory over Dominika Cibulkova.
The American took just 36 minutes to wrap up the opening set, breaking Cibulkova on three occasions. The Slovakian battled hard to save three set points but Williams finally claimed the set 6-0 at the fourth attempt.
Williams continued to dominate in the early stages of the second set, but after saving two break points, Cibulkova held her serve for the first time in the match to make it 2-1.
However, Williams began to take control once more. Despite Cibulkova saving two match points in the final game, Williams took advantage of the third to take the second set 6-1 and seal her progression into the last eight.
Written by
Steven Toplis
Steven Toplis
