Wuhan (China), Sep 29 (IANS): Venus Williams beat Julia Goerges on Tuesday in the Wuhan Open to become just the ninth women's tennis player in the Open Era to reach 700 career match wins.

Williams outslugged Goerges 6-4, 6-3 to not only reach the third round of the Wuhan Open, but also score her 700th match win, reports Xinhua.

Goerges was battle-hardened but Williams was just too strong on the day, especially her serve. She held nine of her 10 service games during the match.

Williams won 10 of the last 11 points to claim victory.

And by virtue of that victory, Williams now has 700 match wins in her career, just the second active player to reach that milestone after her younger sister Serena Williams, who achieved the feat earlier this year en route to the Miami Open crown.

"Wow, 700, I love it!" Williams said when asked about the statistic in her on-court interview.

"Thank you, and thank you guys for being here," she added for the fans on centre court.

It won't get any easier for Williams as she chases win No. 701 on Wednesday against No.7 seed Carla Suarez Navarro, who outlasted Monica Niculescu 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

Navarro leads Williams in their head-to-head matchups 3-2, and won their only meeting this year.