Serena rolls into third round in Rome
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rome, Italy (SportsNetwork.com) - Reigning champion Serena Williams was an easy second-round winner at the $2.6 million Italian International tennis event, a clay court French Open tune-up.
The world No. 1 Williams, who headed to Rome nursing a left thigh injury, waltzed past former top-10 German Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 6-2 in 1 hour, 16 minutes on a windy Wednesday at Foro Italico.
Williams beat Victoria Azarenka in last year's final for her second career title in Rome.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The 32-year-old's third-round opponent on Thursday will be fellow American Varvara Lepchenko.
In other action involving top-five stars, third-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska erased Argentine qualifier Paula Ormaechea 6-3, 6-2 and fourth- seeded Romanian Simona Halep overcame American Madison Keys 5-7, 6-0, 6-1. Halep was last week's Madrid Open runner-up to Maria Sharapova.
Meanwhile, 10th-seeded Italian favorite and former French Open runner-up Sara Errani rolled past Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-3; 11th-seeded former world No. 1 and former Roland Garros titlist Ana Ivanovic, of Serbia, defeated France's Alize Cornet, the 2008 Rome runner-up, 7-6 (7-1), 7-5; 13th-seeded Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro knocked out former world No. 1 Venus Williams 6-4, 6-2; and the aforementioned Lepchenko upset 16th-seeded fellow American Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-2 on Day 3.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Also on Wednesday, American Christina McHale overcame promising Italian Camila Giorgi 1-6, 6-3, 6-1, long-time Italian favorite and former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone came back to best Spaniard Garbine Muguruza 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) and former U.S. Open champion and former French Open finalist Samantha Stosur, of Australia, whipped Russian Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-3.