KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — Venus Williams has advanced to the fourth round at the Sony Ericsson Open by beating Roberta Vinci 6-1, 6-4.

Seeded third, Williams lost only eight points on her first serve Saturday and broke four times, repeatedly slamming big returns off Vinci's weak second serve. She also came to the net 16 times.

Williams extended her winning streak to 12 matches, including titles last month at Dubai and Acapulco. She improved to 44-8 at Key Biscayne, where she's bidding for her fourth title, but her first since 2001.

Vinci, ranked 55th, fell to 0-12 against top-five players.