Australia’s Samantha Stosur beat top-seeded Serena Williams in a shock result at the WTA’s Bank of the West Classic on Friday.
Although Stosur, winner of 22 WTA doubles titles but no singles titles, reached the semi-finals of the French Open this year, the defeat of the Wimbledon champion was a significant upset.
“It’s one of the biggest, if not the biggest win of my career,” Stosur said of her 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory over the Wimbledon champion Williams. “We don’t always play our best tennis every single day. Maybe she didn’t play her best and I played very well.”
PHOTO: AP
Williams’ elder sister Venus beat Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-2.
In the other quarter-finals, third-seeded Elena Dementieva downed Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 6-4 and Marion Bartoli scraped past fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3.
Stosur saved nine of 10 break points on Friday and played a steady game against Serena, who had a nine-match winning streak snapped. She will face Bartoli in the semi-finals.
Sharapova, who returned to the court earlier this year after a nine-month layoff, had 30 unforced errors in her loss. Venus had 14 winners, including three aces, against 17 unforced errors.
Bartoli, ranked No. 15, beat Jankovic for the fourth straight time and improved to 10-3 against her. Dementieva of Russia will face Venus in the semi-finals.
■LA OPEN
REUTERS, LOS ANGELES
Top-seeded German Tommy Haas survived a see-sawing opening set to beat Russian Marat Safin 7-6, 6-2 on Friday and book his place in the semi-finals of the LA Open.
Tournament champion in 2004 and 2006, Haas broke his eighth-seeded opponent in the fifth and seventh games of the second set to seal victory in one hour, 49 minutes to set up a meeting in the last four with American Sam Querrey.
Sixth seed Querrey upset fourth-seeded Israeli Dudi Sela 6-3, 7-5 on a sun-splashed afternoon, breaking his opponent once in each set.
Earlier, little-known Australian qualifier Carsten Ball eased into his first ATP semi-final with a 6-4, 6-4 win against towering American John Isner.
The 22-year-old left-hander, whose father and coach is former Australian professional Syd Ball, twice broke Isner to become the first qualifier to reach the last four in Los Angeles in a decade.
Ball will next meet Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer, who gained a walkover into the last four when second-seeded American Mardy Fish pulled out on Friday because of an abdominal strain.
■CROATIA OPEN
AP, UMAG, CROATIA
Top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko saved five set points in the first set on Friday before reaching the semi-finals of the Croatia Open with a 7-6 (10), 6-1 win over Simone Bolelli of Italy.
Bolelli had two set points at 6-5 and three more in the tiebreaker.
Davydenko will next face fourth-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria, who saved four match points to oust Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3.
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