NEW YORK -- Justine Henin of Belgium, the No. 8 seed, put an end to New York native Bea Bielik's run at the U.S. Open by pulling away for a 7-5, 6-1 third-round victory.

In other top women's matches, No. 1-seeded Serena Williams beat Nathalie Dechy 6-1, 6-1, and fourth-seeded Lindsay Davenport defeated Marion Bartoli 6-3, 6-1.

With the winds swirling at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Henin and Bielik had trouble with their serve in the opening set, which was stopped and started on three occasions by drizzle.

There were seven breaks in the first set, with Henin breaking Bielik in the 12th game to eke out the set.

"It's always hard to play someone that you have never heard anything about," said Henin.

"I knew that what happened in the first set could happen because she has nothing to lose and she is serving well.

"When I won the first set I knew that the match was not over because it's never over, but I thought at this time 'OK, I'm going to play my game now' that's what I did."

Bielik, the reigning NCAA champion, fell apart in the second set as Henin took control and breezed to a 65-minute triumph.

Henin advanced to the fourth round at the U.S. Open for the third consecutive year and will face either 11th-seeded Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova or 24th-seeded Croatian Iva Majoli.

It was quite a professional debut for the 22-year-old Bielik, who grew up in nearby Long Island, and accepted a wild card into the Open. She committed 28 unforced errors and lost her serve six times Friday.

"Obviously I'm satisfied with the effort that I've given this week," said Bielik, whose ranking will leap almost 900 points to No. 255.

"But at the same time I feel like I definitely had my chances today. I feel like I made some errors when I didn't need to and that was the difference.

"She really played the big points better," she said.

Top-seeded Williams, trying to become the first woman to win three straight major titles since Steffi Graf in 1996, moved into the fourth round by dismissing No. 26 Dechy at night before a crowd that included National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. Williams wore a pink top zipped up from the bottom, revealing a dangling belly ring. Williams needed only 49 minutes to get the victory.

Williams, on course for another grand slam final showdown with her older sister and defending U.S. Open champion Venus, will next meet 20th-seeded Czech Daja Bedanova.

"I'm just getting better," said Williams. "It's definitely how I like to see things. You can't just stay at the same level or else you won't win a grand slam. I don't think I would have won any if I had stayed at the same level. You have to get better as each match goes on."

Davenport, who completed one set Wednesday and another on Thursday for her first-round victory, advanced more conventionally with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Marion Bartoli in 47 minutes.

Also Friday, 11th-seeded Daniela Hantuchova ousted No. 24 Iva Majoli 6-3, 6-1; Silvia Farina Elia (13) defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-3; Daja Bedanova (20) beat Anastasia Myskina (15) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2; Francesca Schiavone outlasted Tatiana Panova (22) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3; and Elena Bovina was a 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 winner over Stephanie Foretz.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.