Venus, Serena eye quarter-final affair

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Venus and Serena Williams moved closer to a quarterfinal showdown at the U.S. Open after sailing into the fourth round of the year's final grand slam with emphatic victories on Saturday.

Venus overwhelmed Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko 6-2 6-1, while younger sister Serena blew past Japan's Ai Sugiyama with an identical scoreline.

"I'm definitely at my best now," seventh seeded Venus boasted after her 56-minute rout under sunny skies at the National Tennis Center.

Neither Venus nor fourth seeded Serena have lost a set during this year's tournament and are the only women left in the draw that have won the U.S. Open previously.

Serena refused to say she was at the top of her game but she appeared close to it during her 66-minute demolition of Sugiyama, where she landed 71 percent of her first serves and never faced a break point.

"I'm definitely not at my best but I hope to get there," said the 26-year-old, twice an Open champion who last won the title in 2002.

On the men's side, world number one and Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal also blasted into the fourth round by grinding down Serbian Viktor Troicki 6-4 6-3 6-0.

Andy Murray, the British sixth seed, looked to be on his way out before he found his range to pull off a 6-7 4-6 7-6 6-1 6-3 win over Austrian Juergen Melzer.

Seventh seed David Nalbandian of Argentina was ousted by 32nd seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-3 6-4 6-2, while hard-serving 14th seed Ivo Karlovic of Croatia was beaten 7-6 7-6 6-2 by American Sam Querrey.

MAURESMO ADVANCES

Former world number one Amelie Mauresmo reached the fourth round of a grand slam for the first time in over a year when she defeated Julie Coin 6-4 6-4, the 188th-ranked Frenchwoman who had earlier stunned top seed Ana Ivanovic.

In the last 16, Venus will face ninth seed Angnieska Radwanska of Poland, who made headlines at last year's U.S. Open by sending Maria Sharapova out of the tournament in the third round.

Serena will face either Severine Bremond of France or Italian Tathiana Garbin, both unseeded. She admitted she was "disappointed" at the chance to play Venus in the quarters and not further down the road.

"But I've had over a week to think about it," she said. "So right now I'm just hoping to win my next match."

Four of the top 10 seeds on the women's side have fallen, clearing the way for one of the Williamses to make another title run.

Venus, the Wimbledon holder, is a double Open champion but has not won the title since 2001. The 28-year-old said she has added a little spice to her game since arriving at Flushing Meadows a decade ago.

"I understand the game more," she told reporters. "Trying different kinds of shots too, trying to add some variety."

Venus, who has dropped only 11 games during her three victories, said she is attacking more these days.

"If I get a chance, I definitely do try to come in, especially a lot more this year," she said. "I like it at the net. I just try to play the ball. If it's short, I move in. If I have a chance, I move in.

"I'm thinking about moving forward in every match. That's my mentality."

She fired nine aces, had 32 winners, and never faced a break point to overwhelm Bondarenko in sold-out Arthur Ashe Stadium.

(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)