Venus Williams' late charge for a place at the WTA Finals continued on Friday as she swept aside Alize Cornet in straight sets at the Hong Kong Open.

Williams will move into the top eight on the Road to Singapore by reaching the final in Hong Kong, with a semi-final against Jelena Jankovic next up.

The American was never in any trouble in her quarter-final as she racked up more than double the number of points won by Cornet on her way to an emphatic 6-1 6-1 win.

She said: "I'll try - what can I do except try to win and stay on my game?

"I've been under a lot of pressure in my career, playing big moments not only for myself, but in doubles with my sister, a different kind of pressure. 

"All of that experience will hopefully kind of help me. But I'd like to do more than win one more match - I'd like to win the tournament. I've got big, saucer-plate eyes right now."

Jankovic beat Daria Gavrilova 6-1 6-1. 

Second seed Angelique Kerber edged a tight game littered with break of serve against Caroline Garcia.

Kerber finally found her rhythm midway through the second set and she quickly rattled off five games in a row to seal her progression 7-5 6-3, her next opponent – Samantha Stosur – had a much harder time as Heather Watson put up a real fight.

The Briton took the opening set with a crucial late break and looked to be well set in the second as Stosur erred again early on, but the fifth seed composed herself to level the match before dominating the decider to win 4-6 6-3 6-0.