Serena Williams wasted little time in booking her place in the WTA Miami Open quarterfinals, as she defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-3 to stay on track for a third straight title.
The world No. 1 was in fine form throughout at Crandon Park on Monday, recording 29 winners.
Williams had to show her defensive skills to fend off four break-point chances against the Russian - who had beaten her opponent twice in the past - but she remained largely untroubled and progressed to the last eight in just over 75 minutes.
"Playing Svetlana, I know she's super tough. We always have super tough matches," Williams said.
"The last time we played I was just fighting my hardest and I was barely able to win, so today I knew I had to come out super, super focused, and I really just tried to do the best I could out there."
The 19-time grand slam champion has now won 18 consecutive matches. She is also on a 15-match running streak at the Miami Open.
Next up for Williams is Sabine Lisicki, who dumped 11th seed Sara Errani 6-1, 6-2.
There was also success for Serena's sister Venus Williams, who hit 43 winners on her way to a superb 6-3, 7-6 (7-1) victory over fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki.
Williams is now 7-0 head-to-head against her fellow former world No. 1.
Awaiting Venus in the last eight is Carla Suarez Navarro, who outlasted seventh seed and 2012 champion Agnieszka Radwanska in a come-from-behind 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 triumph.
German Andrea Petkovic and Czech Karolina Pliskova will go head-to-head in the quarterfinals.
Petkovic held off a spirited second set comeback from Ekaterina Makarova to win 6-1, 7-5, while rising star Pliskova accounted for wildcard Daria Gavrilova 6-3, 6-2.
Meanwhile, American Sloane Stephens downed Belinda Bencic 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) to set up a meeting with third seed Simona Halep.
Halep of Romania finally beat Flavia Pennetta at the fourth attempt, triumphing 6-3, 7-5.
World men's No. 1 Novak Djokovic remains on track to retain his crown after cruising past Steve Darcis 6-0, 7-5 in the third round.
Djokovic, bidding to win a fifth title in Miami, was far too strong as he eliminated the Belgian qualifier in straight sets after 88 minutes on court.
The Serb stormed out of the blocks, dropping just 14 of 45 points and facing no break points to close out the opening set in under half an hour.
Darcis provided more of a challenge in the second stanza, breaking for a 5-4 lead, though Djokovic raised his game as he broke back and eventually sealed a spot in the round of 16.
"I managed to come back in the right moment," said Djokovic. "I elevated the intensity and started playing a little bit more with depth on the ball.
"I was handling it really good for first 30 minutes, then [I] started to make some unforced errors and started to play a little bit more neutral, a little bit slower, and he got into the match. [I] complicated my own life in the second set, but in the end of the day, it's a win."
Awaiting Djokovic in the fourth round is Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov, who accounted for Thomaz Bellucci 7-5, 6-4.
There was no such luck for ninth-seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. He was bundled out by local hope and fellow seed John Isner 7-6 (7-2), 6-2.
Isner, the big-serving American, clocked 15 aces to Dimitrov's three to earn a showdown with Canadian fifth seed Milos Raonic.
Raonic rallied to beat Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3) in 2 hours, 10 minutes.
Kei Nishikori and David Goffin will go head-to-head in the fourth round.
Fourth seed Nishikori eased past Viktor Troicki 6-2, 6-2, while Goffin defeated Jerzy Janowicz 6-4, 6-3.
David Ferrer, the sixth-seeded Spaniard, had no trouble progressing from his third-round clash, dismissing Lukas Rosol 6-4, 7-5 after saving six of seven break points faced.
Frenchman and 12th seed Gilles Simon awaits in the next round after he got the better of Alejandro Falla 6-3, 6-4.