Serena Williams reaches French Open quarters as Venus falls

The Williams sisters earned a split Wednesday at Roland Garros, as little sister Serena quickly advanced to the quarterfinals while Venus fell in the fourth round.

It took Serena just over an hour to get past 18th-seeded Elina Svitolina. Rain had kept Williams off the court since Saturday, but the world No. 1 showed little signs of rust in her fourth-round match, winning 6-1, 6-1. Williams set the tone by breaking Svitolina to love in the opening set and served eight aces to send her 21-year-old opponent home early.

Coming into Roland Garros, many wondered if Serena would be in top form due to her lack of play in 2016, but she has assuaged those concerns with her dominant showing thus far. Next up in her chase of a record tying 22nd Grand Slam singles title is an unseeded quarterfinal opponent, Yulia Putinseva. Putinseva upset world No. 14 Carla Suarez Navarro 7-5, 7-5 on Wednesday.

Serena’s older sister had less luck in her fourth-round match against eighth-seeded Timea Bacsinszky, falling 6-2, 6-4. The elder Williams broke Bacinszky early and took a 2-0 lead, but Bacsinszky then won eight straight games to put the match out of reach. Venus, who turns 36 this month, was looking to reach her first French Open quarterfinal since 2006.