ROME -- It will be a sibling battle once more as American teen-age sisters Venus and Serena Williams posted victories to set up a quarterfinal showdown in the $962,000 Italian Open.

Venus, the ninth seed, had little trouble disposing of Alexandra Fusai of France 6-1, 6-1. The 17-year-old Williams, playing her first tournament since recovering from patellar tendinitis in her left knee, extended her winning streak to nine matches.

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Serena Williams

France's Sandrine Testud upset Monica Seles 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. (AP)

reached the round of eight by breezing past seventh-seeded Conchita Martinez of Spain 6-2, 6-2. Williams reached the quarterfinals of the Lipton Championships, which was won by her sister.

It marks the second time the sisters are meeting this year. Venus recorded a straight-sets victory against Serena in the second round of the Australian Open in January.

While Venus was not surprised her sister reached the round of eight, she did notice Serena "is smarter and very tough to beat."

Serena thinks the match will be different than the one in the Australian Open because, "Then, I had no backhand shots, now I cover well. It will be different, we'll have fun."

They are the fourth set of sisters to play against each other in women's tennis history. A total of seven matches have been played by the Williams and Maleeva sisters (Manuela, Katerina and Magdalena), with the older sibling winning all seven.

TOP SEED MARTINA HINGIS of Switzerland again had no problems, dispatching of 10th-seeded Irina Spirlea of Romania 6-1, 6-2. The 17-year-old Hingis improved to 25-3 in 1998 and has lost only 28 games in six matches on clay this year.

Next up for the 17-year-old Hingis is another teen-age sensation, 14th-seeded Anna Kournikova of Russia. The 16-year-old outlasted eighth seed and reigning French Open champion Iva Majoli 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, to advance to the quarterfinals.

The two have met just once this year, with Hingis recording a three-set victory over Kournikova in the third round of the Australian Open. Hingis, the No. 1 player in the world, went on to win that major, the fourth of her career.

Twelfth seed Sandrine Testud of France reached the round of eight by surprising sixth-seeded American Monica Seles 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. Testud will face 16-year-old Croat Mirjana Lucic, who stunned fourth-seeded Mary Pierce of France, 7-5, 6-4.

IN THE QUARTERFINAL OPPOSITE the Williams sisters, fifth-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario will square off against 15th-seeded Lisa Raymond of the United States. Sanchez Vicario, who dumped both Williams sisters en route to the Sydney International title in January, advanced with a 6-1, 6-2 drubbing of 13th seed Dominique van Roost of the Netherlands.

Raymond eliminated Ruxandra Dragomir of Russia, 6-4, 6-1. Raymond, whose lone title came in Quebec City in 1996, reached the fourth round of the French Open last year.

The Williams sisters also advanced in first-round doubles play Wednesday night, knocking off the eighth-seeded Japanese pair of Naoko Kijimuta and Nana Miyagi in straight sets.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT OF THE United States and Anke Huber of Germany are the only players from the Top 20 missing. Davenport does not begin her preparation for the French Open until next week in Berlin, while Huber is recovering from knee surgery.

Former world No. 1 Steffi Graf of Germany withdrew last week. Graf, who won here in 1987, has played just two tournaments since undergoing knee surgery last June. The current issue of the Germany magazine Focus says that Graf has pulled out of the French Open and the preceding tournaments. She is planning to return in time for Wimbledon but told Focus, "If I can't establish any continuity in my practice or tournament schedule, I will give up. I've had enough of turning in circles."

First prize is $150,000. The women's event runs until Sunday. The men's tournament begins on May 11 and runs until the following Sunday.