Tennis roundup
Venus loses to Kuznetsova WARSAW, Poland (AP) – Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Venus Williams 6-4, 6-2 Friday, and top-seeded Kim Clijsters downed Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the semifinals of the J&S Cup.
Kuznetsova next plays Anna Chakvetadze of Russia, who beat Ana Ivanovic of Serbia-Montenegro 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Clijsters will play Elena Dementieva of Russia, who dropped the first set against Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwanska before cruising to a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 win.
The 13th-ranked Williams played only her fourth match since the Australian Open, sitting out nearly four months with a strained right elbow.
“I think the key of the game was consistency,” Kuznetsova said. “I wanted to attack. I was focusing to put as many balls back as I could, and sometimes she made easy mistakes.”
The 10th-ranked Kuznetsova traded breaks with Williams early in the first set on clay. Serving at 5-4, Williams wasted five game points before netting a backhand and knocking a forehand long to give Kuznetsova the set.
Williams’s poor play continued in the next set.
Trailing 1-0 in the second, Williams double faulted to give the Russian a break point, then hit a two-handed forehand long. The break was all Kuznetsova, a J&S finalist the past two years, would end up needing.
Williams, who overcame leg cramps to beat Martina Hingis in three sets on Thursday, said her legs weren’t an issue against Kuznetsova.
Clijsters, ranked No. 2 in the world, rallied from break down early in the first set to make it 3-3. Schiavone then hit a smash into the net to give her opponent a crucial second break.
Three former champs advance in Estoril Open
OEIRAS, Portugal – Former champions David Nalbandian, Nikolay Davydenko and Carlos Moya reached the semifinals of the Estoril Open with straight-sets victories.
Top-seeded Nalbandian overpowered Portuguese wild card Frederico Gil 6-1, 6-2.
The Argentine, returning to Estoril for the first time since winning in 2002, will meet Albert Portas of Spain on Saturday. Portas advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 win over American Justin Gimelstob.
Second-seeded Davydenko, the 2003 Estoril champ, edged Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 6-4, 6-4. Davydenko will meet Moya, the 2000 winner, who beat fellow Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-6 (4), 6-4.
In the women’s quarterfinals, top-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy defeated Eleni Daniilidou of Greece 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. Pennetta will play Jie Zheng of China, who beat Czech Zuzana Ondraskova 6-1, 6-3, for a place in the final.
Emilie Loit of France, the 2004 champ, upset third-seeded Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Loit will face Li Na of China, a finalist last year, who defeated second-seeded Gisela Dulko of Argentina 6-3, 6-1.
Nieminen advances
MUNICH, Germany – Jarkko Nieminen, the highest-ranked player left in the BMW Open, outlasted Robin Vik 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 to reach the semifinals of the clay-court tournament for the third time.
The third-seeded Nieminen will play Kristof Vliegen, who beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5, 6-4.
Fifth-seeded Olivier Rochus defeated qualifier Denis Gremelmayr 6-4, 7-5. He’ll face Juergen Melzer, who beat big-serving Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (4), 6-1.
Gremelmayr, who beat top-seeded Guillermo Coria in the first round, had to be treated for a left-thigh thigh injury in the second set.
Nieminen was a finalist in Munich in 2003 and a semifinalist in 2004.