Williams Arrives Fashionably Great

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. —  Serena Williams made her latest fashion statement Monday and offered some eye-popping tennis as well.

Playing her third match after an eight-month layoff, Williams overpowered Maria Sharapova, 6-4, 6-3, to reach the quarterfinals of the Nasdaq-100 Open.

On the men’s side, Andy Roddick and six-time champion Andre Agassi remained on course for a semifinal showdown by advancing to the fourth round.

Williams smacked nine aces and 26 winners, including one backhand that sounded as though it had been struck with a baseball bat. She also created a buzz with her newest attire.

Gone was the much-discussed corset dress of the earlier rounds, replaced by a two-piece outfit with a fitted tank top, bare midriff, hot pants, navel jewelry and chandelier earrings.

“This is my Wonder Woman outfit,” Williams said. “I feel real powerful in this suit, like a superhero.”

After a slow start, the top-seeded Williams began to blast away, and Sharapova could only watch and shake her head as shots whizzed past.

“She has so much power,” Sharapova said. “She’s a very strong lady.”

Williams’ quarterfinal opponent today will be fellow American Jill Craybas, who rallied to upset No. 9-seeded Paola Suarez, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2).

No. 2 Venus Williams beat No. 15 Francesca Schiavone, 6-1, 6-3, and faces No. 5 Elena Dementieva on Wednesday.

Roddick, seeded second, beat No. 26 Jonas Bjorkman, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Agassi, seeded fourth, committed five unforced errors and beat Max Mirnyi, 6-2, 6-2, in 53 minutes.

“Days like this are few and far between,” Agassi said. “So I definitely feel great about the performance.”

Agassi will play No. 20 Agustin Calleri today.

Vince Spadea, staging a career comeback at age 29, edged Radek Stepanek, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (3).