Intro:

Serena Williams and Simona Halep reach the quarter finals of the Cincinnati Masters.

Script:

Serena Williams was looking to book her place in the quarter finals of the Cincinnati Masters -when she faced 13th seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy on Thursday

Williams showed no ill effects of the surprise defeat she suffered at the hands of sister Venus in Toronto earlier this month, and cruised through the opening set for the loss of just two games before opening out a commanding 5-0 second set lead.

Williams cruising into the final eight with a 6-2 6-2 win.

Joining her at that stage is second seed Simona Halep.

The Romanian produced a superb return game early in the first set to take a 3-2 lead - eventually converting that to a 6-4 first set.

The second set was just as closely fought, but again it was Halep who dominated on the key points, taking a 6-4 7-5 win for a place in the final eight.