|
 Williams, who was upset by Bencic last week in the semi-finals of
the Rogers Cup in Toronto, needed 54 minutes to get by Knapp and set
up a showdown with Serbian Ana Ivanovic in what will be a rematch of
last year's final.
"When you've done well somewhere it gives you confidence and also
takes pressure off," said Williams, who has won 41 straight matches
on U.S. hardcourts since losing to Victoria Azarenka in the 2013
Cincinnati final.
"Playing at home in America is great."
Sixth seed Ivanovic advanced after beating American Sloane 2-6 6-4
6-1. The Serb has beaten Williams only once in nine meetings with
the only win coming at in a last-16 clash at the 2014 Australian
Open.
Rogers Cup champion Bencic took an eight-match winning streak into
her last-16 clash with Lucie Safarova but the 18-year-old Swiss was
forced to retire with a muscle strain after her seventh-seed
opponents took the first set 6-2.
"First of all, I don't think it's very serious," Bencic told
reporters. "I just wasn't 100 percent today, and to beat Lucie or
even compete against her, you need to be 100 percent."
Bencic will meet with her team before deciding whether she can play
in the Connecticut Open next week, the final tournament before Aug.
31-Sept. 13 U.S. Open.
[to top of second column] |
Bencic began her match against Safarova by breaking her opponent,
but Safarova broke right back to win with ease and will next face
either Ukrainian 14th seed Elina Svitolina or Frenchwoman Caroline
Garcia in the quarter-finals.
Unseeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova also advanced to the
quarter-finals when Azarenka retired despite leading the match 6-1
0-3.
Serbian Jelena Jankovic and Slovak qualifier Anna Karolina
Schmiedlova also advanced to the quarter-finals.
(Reporting by Tim Wharnsby in Toronto; Editing by Frank Pingue)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
