Next up for Coin in the third round is countrywoman Amelie Mauresmo, who beat Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 2-6, 6-4, 6-0. Coin and Mauresmo once played at the same club near Paris and shared the same coach, yet don't know each other well.

"I know she was No. 1," Coin said.

Going into this Open, Ivanovic had played only two matches since Wimbledon while her thumb healed. The injury forced her to withdraw from the Olympics before they began, limited her practice time, and sent her from Beijing to Australia for treatment.

Pain-free, she made no excuses after escaping against No. 57 Vera Dushevina in the first round.

James Blake, David Ferrer, Andy Murray and Dinara Safina joined Venus Williams in moving into the third round at Flushing Meadows.

The seventh-seeded Williams overwhelmed Rossana de Los Rios of Paraguay 6-0, 6-3, winning on her fifth match point.

"I'm very satisfied so far, the way it's gone," Williams said.

Williams breezed past an opponent ranked 117th. After teaming with her sister to win Olympic gold in doubles, she stayed on course to play Serena in the quarterfinals here.

"Whichever way the draw goes, whichever way the matches go, as long as hopefully it's a win for me, I'm pretty happy about it," she said.

Williams is the last woman to win consecutive championships at the US Open, but hasn't taken the title since 2001.

"Oh yes, I remember. I won't forget, but I'd like to have a more recent memory as of, like, '08," she said. "Kind of overdue."

Blake advanced when Steve Darcis of Belgium pulled out because of a bad lower back. Seeded ninth and coming off a tough, five-set match in the first round, Blake was up 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 when Darcis retired.

Among the other winners were No. 9 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 17 Alize Cornet, No. 18 Dominika Cibulkova and No. 19 Nadia Petrova. But No. 20 Nicole Vaidisova lost to Severine Bremond of France 7-5, 6-3.

The fourth-seeded Ferrer beat Andreas Beck of Germany 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (5), the sixth-seeded Murray defeated Michael Llodra of France 6-4, 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7) and No. 10 Stanislas Wawrinka advanced.

The No. 6-seeded Safina, not nearly as volatile as brother Marat Safin, played under control in beating Roberta Vinci of Italy 6-4, 6-3.

(Agencies via Shanghai Daily August 29, 2008)