Rogers Cup: Venus shrugs off Siniakova to reach pre-quarters

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams produced a rich vein of form as she overcame in-form Ericsson Open champion Katerina Siniakova of Czech Republic to reach the third round of the Rogers Cup here on Thursday.

The 37-year-old, who finished as the runner-up in Montreal three years ago, was forced to draw on all of her vast experience before she eventually prevailed Siniakova 7-5, 7-5 in an exhilarating second-round clash that lasted for one hour and 39 minutes.

Williams snapped Siniakova's six-match winning streak in style as she hammered 32 winners, including 12 aces, while making just nine unforced errors throughout the two-set thriller.

With the win, the American has now set up a highly-anticipated pre-quarterfinal clash against No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina, who defeated Russia's Daria Kasatkina 7-6, 6-4.

Williams, who will be chasing her third U.S. Open crown next month after reaching the Wimbledon and Australian Open finals this year, had earlier registered her first-ever win in Toronto when she rebounded strongly to post a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win over Irina-Camelia Begu in a rain-hit opening encounter.

Meanwhile, in another women's singles clash, Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza ousted Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens 7-5, 6-2 to reach the third round.

She will now cross swords with Ashleigh Barty of Australia for a place in the last eight.