US Open, Flushing Meadows
Dates: 30 August - 12 September Start time: 1600 BST
Coverage: Live text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles; updates on BBC Radio 5 live; live on Sky Sports

Clijsters has not lost at the US Open since 2004

Defending champion Kim Clijsters survived an early scare to beat Petra Kvitova 6-3 6-0 and move into the fourth round of the US Open.

Third seed Venus Williams lost her first two service games before crushing world 185 Mandy Minella 6-2 6-1.

Fifth seed Samantha Stosur and sixth seed Francesca Schiavone also advanced.

Concern on Friday surrounded the proximity of Hurricane Earl, but the early matches were interrupted for just 25 minutes by a brief rain shower.

Clijsters made a sluggish start, dropping the first three games to Wimbledon semi-finalist Kvitova, but then reeled off 12 in a row to ease into the last 16.

"A match like this today probably gives me more satisfaction because I beat a good player without even playing my best tennis," said the Belgian.

606: DEBATE Your thoughts on the women's draw

An intriguing fourth-round clash with former world number one Ana Ivanovic awaits for Clijsters after the Serbian defeated France's Virginie Razzano 7-5 6-0.

Williams, playing in her first tournament since losing in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, initially struggled to capitalise on the ease with which she broke her Luxembourg opponent's serve.

But after finally holding in the sixth game, the American's errors became less frequent as she accelerated away to clinch victory.

Israel's Shahar Peer, who has lost to Williams three times already this season, will get another shot at the two-time champion after she beat Italy's Flavia Pennetta 6-4 6-4.

Australia's number five seed Stosur began the day on Louis Armstrong Stadium with a dominant 6-2 6-3 win over Italy's Sara Errani in just one hour and 20 minutes.

In six previous appearances at the US Open she had never previously got past the second round, but has reached the quarter-finals or better in nine of her last 10 events.

Stosur will now meet 12th seed Elena Dementieva, who saw off Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova 7-5 6-2.

Williams won the title at Flushing Meadows in 2000 and 2001

Hantuchova had led 5-2 in the first set but then lost 11 of the next 13 games, including five in a row, as her form completely collapsed.

The Czech 24th seed was serving for the first set at 5-3 when rain briefly interrupted play, and when the match resumed she served two double-faults and was never able to regain her composure.

Dementieva, who hit 18 winners, said: "I did not want to lose that first set, I was just trying to fight for every point and that was the key for the match.

"After that I felt so much more confident in the second set and played a more aggressive game."

On her fourth-round meeting with the much-improved Stosur, she said: "She's a very solid player with a huge serve. She's a great athlete and moves very well around the court."

French Open champion Schiavone overcame the Ukrainian 29th seed Alona Bondarenko 6-1 7-5 and decorated her win with an audacious winner back through her legs as she chased down a lob in the 10th game.

Her reward is a meeting with Russia's Anatasia Pavlyuchenkova who eased aside Gisela Dulko 6-1 6-2.

The winner of their fourth-round clash is in line to potentially face Williams in the quarter-finals.

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