Serena Williams advances to French Open round of 16

Defending champion Serena Williams advanced Saturday to the French Open round of 16 with a hardfought 64, 76 (1210) victory over France’s Kristina Mladenovic.

The world No. 1 needed two hours and 11 minutes to defeat Mladenovic in a match that was interrupted by rain.

The top seed is vying for her 22nd Grand Slam singles title, which would equal German great Steffi Graf’s major haul and leave her just two shy of Australian Margaret Court’s alltime record.

Her next opponent will be 21yearold Elina Svitolina, who defeated 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic 64, 64 on Saturday.

Williams will be the big favorite against the 18thseeded Ukrainian, having won all three of their previous matches.