Serena Williams, the No 2 seed, cruised into the quarter-finals of the French Open by overwhelming Aleksandra Wozniak, the Canadian, 6-1, 6-2 in a match that lasted only 53 minutes. Williams, the 2002 champion, will meet either Svetlana Kuznetsova, the Russian, or Agnieszka Radwanska, the twelfth seed, for a place in the last four.

Wozniak, 21, was making her first fourth-round appearance at a Grand Slam tournament and was broken in her first service game, when Williams set up three break points with a pin-point cross-court forehand before bludgeoning a backhand winner down the line.

Williams, bidding for her 11th Grand Slam singles title and third in a row, moved her opponent around the court with embarrassing ease, encountering little resistance as she broke again before wrapping up the first set with a full-bodied smash.

Wozniak's efforts to force her way back into the match earned her applause from the crowd on the Court Philippe Chatrier and she threatened an unlikely comeback by breaking back at 4-1 down in the second set. However, her feathery serve was a constant source of frustration and Williams took full advantage, breaking three times as she cruised into her sixth French Open quarter-final.