Serena Williams, Safina advance

Serena Williams and Dinara Safina made short work of second-round opponents Tuesday to move into the quarterfinals of the Sydney International tennis tournament at Sydney, Australia.

Williams, who was stretched to three sets and saved four match points in her opening match against Samantha Stosur of Australia, beat Sara Errani 6-1, 6-2 in 50 minutes.

Her win at Ken Rosewall Arena came moments after Safina finished off a 6-3, 6-0 win over Vera Dushevina in just over an hour on Court 1.

In early first-round men's play, Paul-Henri Mathieu beat Andreas Seppi 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.

The Australian Open will begin Monday in Melbourne.

KOOYONG CLASSIC: Former No. 1 Marat Safin withdrew with a shoulder injury from the Kooyong Classic eight-man exhibition at Kooyong, Australia, former home of the Australian Open, and was replaced by Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia.

ATP HIRES HELFANT: Former NHL lawyer and Nike executive Adam Helfant, 44, of the United States was hired Monday to run the men's professional tennis tour.

He replaces Etienne de Villiers, who was hired in 2005 and stepped down last year.

De Villiers oversaw the introduction of video replay and increased prize money.