Serena Williams eases past Johanna Larsson to hit historic milestone

Serena Williams has brushed aside Johanna Larsson in the third round of the US Open to remain on course for her seventh title on home soil.

The top seed also hit a personal milestone with the victory in New York, registering a 307th career win to climb above Martina Navratilova's tally for the most in the open era.

It was a straightforward triumph for Williams, who held serve throughout both sets to progress through 6-2 6-1 and set up a last-16 tie with Yaroslava Shvedova.

Williams was not quite at her perfect best, however, squandering three break points in the opener before getting the job done, with two breaks of serve putting her a set to the good.

Larsson, who matched her previous best from 2014 by making it this far in New York, could not live with her American opponent and saw two losses of serve in the second set cost any chance of a major upset.