Serena Williams Defeats Roberta Vinci to Advance to Quarterfinals at French Open

World No. 1 Serena Williams dominated 15th-seeded Italian Roberta Vinci 6-1, 6-3 in the fourth round of the 2013 French Open to advance to the quarterfinals.

With another lopsided victory for the American star, she is putting herself in position to make a run at the title. If she pulls it off, it would be her second singles title at Roland Garros and her first since 2002.

While Vinci deserves credit for giving Williams her toughest test of the tournament thus far, she was still unable to make much of a dent in the No. 1 player's game plan. After winning the last 10 games of the matchup against Vinci and only losing 10 games all tournament, it's clear Williams is on fire.

Besides her deadly serve that has proven to be the most dominant on the women's side, Williams is using her lateral speed and agility to capitalize on the clay courts this year.

Add in her lack of nagging injuries, and the stage has been set for Williams to make a deep run at Roland Garros.

Williams has a clear sense of focus right now and is taking one match at a time. 

Prior to her match Sunday, Williams took down Anna Tatishvili in the first, 6-0, 6-1, Caroline Garcia in the second, 6-1, 6-2, and 26th-ranked Sorana Cirstea in the third, 6-0, 6-2.

After a great finish to the 2012 season—winning Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and Olympic gold medals in singles and doubles—and a solid start to 2013, Williams is looking to set the tone for the rest of the year. She looks to be in great form, physically and mentally.

With the knowledge that some of the best in the sport, including Li Na and Caroline Wozniacki, have already been eliminated, the road to another Grand Slam has become easier.

Williams will face Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals after the Russian defeated eighth-ranked Angelique Kerber in the previous round 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.