Serena Williams wins last 10 games against Daniela Hantuchova to reach US Open quarters

Serena Williams still awaiting true test at Open

NEW YORK — Serena Williams is still waiting for her first true test of this U.S. Open.

The defending champion’s fourth-round match was competitive for all of four games Sunday, before Williams took 10 in a row to beat No. 22-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 6-2, 6-0.

Williams, who is seeded second at the Open, has reached the quarterfinals at 11 of the past 12 major tournaments and won the title at three of the past four.

“I just want to keep this level and just stay focused,” Williams said.

With the score 2-all against Hantuchova, Williams hit three aces to hold for a 3-2 lead — and she wouldn’t lose a game the rest of the way.

She has won all eight sets she’s played this year at Flushing Meadows.

“I tried to relax,” Williams said after improving to 8-1 against Hantuchova over their careers. “Sometimes I’m such a perfectionist, I put too much stress on myself. I was like, ‘Serena, relax!’”

She finished with eight aces and a 27-9 advantage in winners in Sunday’s first match in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Her older sister Venus, the 2000-01 U.S. Open champion, was scheduled to face 2005 champion Kim Clijsters in a fourth-round match later in the day.

In other early action Sunday, No. 9 Gilles Simon of France retired because of a knee injury while trailing No. 24 Juan Carlos Ferrero 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 1-0.

“Sometimes, I don’t know why, I just feel a big pain,” said Simon, who added that he’s had problems with the knee since the French Open in May.

Among others slated to play: No. 3 Rafael Nadal against No. 32 Nicolas Almagro, and No. 2 Andy Murray against 195th-ranked Taylor Dent of Newport Beach, Calif.

No. 1 Dinara Safina was upset in the third round Saturday night, meaning No. 2 Williams is the highest-ranked woman left in the field. Safina will remain atop the rankings, though, even if the younger Williams were to win a second consecutive U.S. Open title and fourth overall.

“I didn’t even see that result until this morning, so I haven’t thought much about it,” Williams said. “I’m not focused on who wins and who loses. I’m just focused on hopefully what I can do.”

Safina was disappointed by her loss — and angry about her court assignment. Bumped out of Ashe for her late-night match Saturday because of time concerns, Safina was beaten by 72nd-ranked Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (5).

Ahead 6-5 in the third set, Safina had three match points but lost them all.

She blamed herself for that. But she also complained about the court change — both because she felt disrespected by the move and because she thought organizers could have handled the situation better.

“From my side, I can say, I’m No. 1 player in the world, why did they move me?” Safina said.

Her match was shifted from Arthur Ashe Stadium to the smaller Louis Armstrong Stadium because of a late-running afternoon session. The original schedule called for Safina-Kvitova to open the night session in Ashe, followed by a men’s match between Tommy Robredo and James Blake.

But because things were running late, organizers opted to play those matches simultaneously.

“They just told us, ‘We’re switching you to Armstrong.’ And basically that’s it,” Safina said. “And I think it’s very unfair.”

Kvitova didn’t seem to mind. Asked after her victory about the court change, she said: “Yeah, doesn’t matter for me. I’m not (a) star, so …”

Her win over Safina ended at 12:50 a.m., about 10 minutes before Robredo wrapped up his three-set victory over Blake next door.

“I have to take her side on this,” Williams said. “I think that she was first on. … They should have moved the men’s match. Simple as that, that’s how it should be done. If you’re supposed to play a match, you’re supposed to play it, and then you move the next match.”