Serena Williams vs. Kateryna Bondarenko: Score, Reaction from 2016 Indian Wells

Serena Williams moved one step closer to a record third singles title at the Indian Wells Masters in California on Tuesday, defeating Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Williams only returned to the BNP Paribas Open last season for the first time since 2001. She and her sister, Venus, had boycotted the event since that year when Serena Williams won the singles title amid alleged racism from spectators.

Otherwise, the 34-year-old legend may well have already had the most singles titles at Indian Wells by a considerable margin. She advanced to the semifinals in last year's return before withdrawing due to a knee injury.

The emotionally charged history at the venue didn't cause Williams to falter in her 2015 appearance, and she appears to be firing on all cylinders this time around.

Despite being such a heavy favorite in Tuesday's match, Williams wasn't holding anything back. Howard Bryant of ESPN The Magazine highlighted a notable demonstration of her immense power:

Needing only 35 minutes to cap off the opening set, Williams was in command from the beginning. Although Bondarenko broke when Williams had the chance to serve out the set, she lost the subsequent game on serve to go down a set against the world No. 1.

Tennis expert Steph Trudel observed some of the ironic humor that could be found in an otherwise unsavory and frustrating outing for Bondarenko:

It had to be frustrating for Bondarenko considering she won only 51 percent of points in which she hit her first serve in play. That's the type of intimidating power and returning prowess Williams brings, making her especially difficult to defeat on hard courts.

As the second set began, the match's outcome was more a question of "when" rather than "if" Williams would send her opponent packing.

Erik Gudris of TennisNow reacted afterward to how Williams continued to set a high standard of herself in a match she was in clear control of:

Such severe self-scrutiny served Williams well to start the second and final set.

She broke Bondarenko to go up 2-0 and dropped only one point on her next service game to seize a commanding lead down the stretch. Williams surrendered a mere point on return thereafter to go up 4-0, leaving her adversary all but bereft of hope.

Similar to how the opening set ended, Bondarenko salvaged a late break and held serve to cut her deficit to 4-2, but Williams ultimately prevailed in lopsided fashion with one last break to close.

Williams moves on to face defending champion Simona Halep in the quarterfinals, whose round-of-16 opponent Barbora Strycova unfortunately had to retire on Tuesday, per the tournament's official Twitter feed.

That leaves Halep even fresher to take on Williams. Considering Halep is one of the world's best players, her presence ought to make Williams' path to a third Indian Wells triumph quite a challenge.

If she were facing a less formidable foe, perhaps Williams would suffer a letdown of sorts.

She had no problem focusing on the task at hand in the fourth round even with an expected matchup against Halep on the horizon, though. Halep may be the reigning title holder, but Williams should still be regarded as the favorite.

Post-Match Reaction

Said Williams of the impending matchup with Halep, "She's aggressive, a fighter. I have to be ready. It'll be a good match for both of us," per the tournament's official Twitter account.

Williams also reflected on her overall performance at Indian Wells.

"So far I think my consistency has been well; being aggressive has been well; everything that I've wanted to do I've kind of been doing," Williams said, per the Associated Press' Beth Harris. 

If she is executing to her extraordinarily high standards and continues to do so, even someone like Halep may not have the goods to deny Williams the hardware at this tournament.

Note: Stats and draw information courtesy of WTATennis.com.