Venus Williams won nine of the last 10 games to beat Kurumi Nara and reach the ASB Classic quarterfinals.

It looked like Nara was going to pose a threat early on as she twice came back from a break down and, after roughly half an hour, was leading 4-3. But the No.3-seeded Williams took it up several levels from there, reeling off nine of the next 10 games to run away with a 6-4, 6-1 victory in 65 minutes. 

 "Today was a different match than yesterday - not as straightforward," Williams, who dropped just one game in her first round match, said. "I was playing an opponent with more experience. She's very tenacious despite her size. She knows how to construct points, she plays great defense and can go on the offense as well, so it's a good match to have under my belt this early on in the season.
"Williams, who is coming off her first Top 20 season since 2010, is hoping for big things in 2015. 
 "I always had goals, but in life things never really work out the way you think they're going to," Williams said. "It's been that way my whole career - you say, 'I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do that,' but sometimes you fall a little bit short, and sometimes you do more than you ever thought you could.