VENUS and Serena Williams both posted victories on the second day of action at the WTA event in Charleston.Venus made a successful start to her campaign in South Carolina, beating Iveta Benesova 6-4 6-3 in her first round match, while Serena eased through her second round clash with Elena Vesnina 6-3 6-4.Venus, who has recently returned from a long injury absence and received a wild card to take part in Charleston, showed signs of form, slamming down six aces and winning 76 per cent of points on her first serve to brush aside an opponent to whom she has never lost.She will face seventh seed Jelena Jankovic in the second round.Fifth-seeded Serena served imperiously on her way past Russia’s Vesnina, the American firing down 11 aces in her first match on clay for over a year.Victory for the younger Williams, appearing in Charleston for the first time since winning the tournament in 2008, keeps her on course for a potential meeting with her sister in the semi-finals.Also in the second round, fourth seed Vera Zvonareva wasted no time in destroying Kateryna Bondarenko - her 6-1 6-1 win came in just 50 minutes.2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur joined the Russian in round three with a similarly comprehensive 6-0 7-5 win over Jamie Hampton.Stosur’s Australian countrywoman Anastasia Rodionova sprang the surprise of the day, beating number 10 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues 7-5 6-3 while eighth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova also made it through after a three-set 3-6 6-4 6-4 battle with Greek Eleni Daniilidou.
