ROME -- Venus Williams and her kid sister, Serena, both won at the Italian Open today and took another step toward a possible meeting in the quarterfinals.

Venus, seeded ninth, had no trouble beating Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo 6-1, 6-4. Unseeded Serena Willams also advanced when Joannette Kruger retired with a back injury while trailing 5-1.

Top-seeded Martina Hingis beat China's Fang Li 6-3, 6-0.

SECOND-SEEDED JANA NOVOTNA MADE another quick exit from this tournament with

Fusai celebrates after defeating Novotna. (AP)

a self-inflicted loss. Novotna let three match points slip away on errors and lost to French qualifier Alexandra Fusai 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3. Novotna has lost all four matches she has played in Rome dating back to 1987.

The clay-court event also lost its third seed when Amanda Coetzer was beaten 6-2, 6-2 by Romanian Ruxandra Dragomir.

Defending Italian Open champion Mary Pierce and former winners Monica Seles and Conchita Martinez all advanced Wednesday, as did Iva Majoli, who is sharpening her game for a defense of her French Open.

Majoli, seeded 10th, dropped the first set and went down 4-2 in the decisive third before reeling off four games in a row to defeat 114th-ranked Jana Kandarr 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in just under two hours.

"It was more difficult than I expected it to be. I was making a lot of mistakes," Majoli said. "Maybe I don't have too much confidence in myself since I haven't done too well on clay this year."

The Croatian did not play particularly well, nor did Kandarr, who played three sets for the second successive day and whose left thigh was bandaged because of a lingering muscle injury. Neither served with any consistency -- there were seven service breaks in the final set.

RAIN WASHED OUT ALL PLAY MONDAY and interrupted Tuesday's schedule for four hours. The sun was out Wednesday and Majoli labored through her match, twice asking for the trainer during changeovers.

Pierce beat French Federation Cup teammate Sarah Pitkowski 6-1, 6-2, while 1990 Italian Open winner Seles defeated Italy's Silvia Farina 6-2, 6-1.

Pierce, seeded fourth, has shown signs of building a strong season. She has won two of the four events she has entered, including on clay at Amelia Island, Fla., last month, where she defeated Majoli in the quarterfinals.

Seles is playing a limited 1998 schedule so she can spend time with her father who has cancer. But she looked trimmer and concentrated on the court Wednesday.

"Everyone wants to see Monica back," Majoli said of Seles, who has never regained her No. 1 form since being stabbed by a spectator during a 1993 match.

"Being at peace with a lot of issues within myself has helped a lot. Sorting out things in my life has helped on a day-to-day basis," she said.

Seles, seeded sixth, will play No. 12 Sandrine Testud in the third round. Testud rallied past Austria's Barbara Schett 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 today.

NOVOTNA AND COETZER WERE THE ONLY SEEDS to lose Wednesday. Fifth seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain ousted countrywoman Cristina Torrens-Valero, 6-3, 7-5; No. 10 Irina Spirlea of Romania bounced Virginia Ruano-Pascual of Spain, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3); No. 12 Sandrine Testud of France overcame Barbara Schett of Austria, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3; 13th-seeded Dominique van Roost dispatched Naoko Sawamatsu of Japan, 6-4, 6-2; American and 15th seed Lisa Raymond outlasted compatriot Anne Miller, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7); fourteenth seed and 16-year-old sensation Anna Kournikova of Russia rolled past Barbara Paulus of Austria, 6-2, 6-2.

The Williams sisters could face each other in the quarterfinals. "When I saw the draw I was disappointed because I was looking forward to a final or semifinal meeting," said 16-year-old Serena, who has vaulted more than 400 ranking spots to 31st in the past seven months.

Serena will have to get past No. 7 Martinez first. Martinez, who had her string of four consecutive Italian Open titles snapped by Pierce in last year's final, struggled past Italian wild card entry Flora Perfetti 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 for her 500th career match victory.

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.