Venus through to last eight

Venus Williams is through to the US Open quarter-finals for the 10th time after ousting 16th seed Shahar Peer in straight sets.

The third seed passed a stern test that was tougher than expected against the Israeli before eventually prevailing 7-6 6-3 out on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Twice the champion in New York, Williams has been forced to enter this year's tournament rusty, having spent two months on the sidelines with a left kneecap injury.

And the 30-year-old found herself in a first-set struggle against Peer, with both players claiming breaks of serve at regular intervals.

Marathon game

In a marathon 12th game, Williams and Peer each missed on five game points before the latter held on a forehand winner to force the tie-breaker, where Williams grabbed a 5-1 advantage on the way to claiming the set.

Williams, who extended her winning record over Peer to 6-0, was more convincing in the second set and secured a double break to race to a 5-2 lead.

Peer managed to claw back one service game but lost her own in game nine as Williams sealed the one hour 54 minutes contest with her first match point.

"Winning the first set always feels good," said the world number four. "Instead of regrouping and figuring out how you are going to win the match, you can focus on trying to win it in the second set."

Williams will next lock horns with French Open champion Francesca Schiavone for a place in the last four at Flushing Meadows.

Schiavone, the sixth seed, had earlier cruised into the quarter-finals after wrapping up a 6-3 6-0 victory over 20th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.