Serena dumps Safina to cruise into Paris quarter-finals

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PARIS, June 3 (Reuters) Serena Williams reached the 19th grand slam quarter-final of her career today with a comfortable 6-2 6-3 defeat of Russian Dinara Safina.

The sole American player remaining in either singles draw surged into a 4-0 lead and was always in control.

Only briefly in the second set did 10th seed Safina, one of four Russians in the last 16, threaten to make a contest of it when she broke the Williams serve for the first time.

She had another chance at 2-2, but Williams snuffed out the danger and sped away to victory in one hour and 17 minutes.

The 2002 champion will face either top seed and winner for the last two years Justine Henin or Austrian Sybille Bammer in the last eight.

Reuters BJR GC1635