V. Williams gains U.S. Open 3rd round

Williams, the third-seeded two-time Open winner, downed her Canadian opponent 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, never surrendering serve en route to her next match, against Luxembourg's Mandy Minella.

Minella prevailed Wednesday over No. 32 seed Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 6-4, 6-0 -- thus denying Williams a chance for a rematch with Pironkova, who had stunned the American star in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon this summer.

In other matches at the sun-baked U.S. Tennis Center in New York, sixth-seeded French Open champion Francesca Schiavone took apart fellow Italian Maria Elena Camerin 6-2, 6-1, improving to 9-1 in her last 10 Grand Slam matches.

No. 10 seed Belarusian Victoria Azarenka succumbed to the heat, retiring from her second-round match with Argentine Gisela Dulko while trailing 5-1 in the first set.

Azarenka collapsed on the court, left in a wheelchair and was taken to a hospital. She later told reporters she had fallen and hit her head during a training exercise before the match, and the aftereffects of the blow caused her to feel dizzy in the 100-degree heat.

"I was taken to the hospital for some medical tests and have been diagnosed with a mild concussion," she said.

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