Serena at her mighty best

MOSCOW: Serena Williams advanced to the quarterfinals of the Kremlin Cup by beating Tatiana Perebiynis of Ukraine 7-5 6-4 on Thursday.

Perebiynis saved three match points before Williams won with a powerful backhand. “I don’t I think I’ve played up to my standards today (Thursday) but I was glad to get through,” Williams said.

In the second round of the men’s tournament, second seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia was upset by Michael Berrer of Germany 7-5 6-4.

Williams and Perebiynis traded breaks three times in the first set before the fourth seeded American broke again with a backhand down the line in the 12th game.

The seventh ranked Williams was leading 2-0 in the second set but lost her next serve at love and Perebiynis levelled at 3-3 after trading serves one more time.

Williams, who said she wasn’t used to playing in morning matches, had trouble with her volleys early but managed to score several key points at the net in the second. Her first serve also improved, and she finished with six aces.

“Usually I sleep at 11, but I liked it because if I have to play hopefully four days in a row it’s good to play early,” Williams said.

The eight time Grand Slam champion is playing in Moscow for the first time in a decade. In 1997, the 16-year-old Williams qualified and lost in the first round when she was ranked 448th.

In Friday’s quarterfinals, Williams will play either Elena Vesnina or Nicole Vaidisova.