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Russian sixth seed Dinara Safina overcame a couple of concentration lapses to defeat Italy's [Images] Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the U.S. Open on Thursday.

Safina established a 3-0 lead in the opening set and a 3-1 advantage in the second but each time seemed to lose her focus, allowing a scrambling Vinci to break back and threaten a fightback.

However, Safina averted the danger by outclassing Vinci with her powerful serves and searing groundstrokes.

The Russian, who has a 17-1 win-loss record since Wimbledon [Images], will next face Switzerland's [Images] Timea Bacsinszky.