Same old, same old

Venus eliminates Kournikova at Bank of the West

Venus Williams has won eight straight matches against Anna Kournikova. AP

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -- Even one of Anna Kournikova's better performances in years wasn't enough to beat Venus Williams.

Williams overcame a feisty effort by Kournikova, winning 6-3, 6-4 Friday night to join Lindsay Davenport, Kim Clijsters and Lisa Raymond in the semifinals of the Bank of the West Classic.

Williams' powerful serve, which reached 116 mph, was her best weapon against Kournikova, who had two victories earlier in the week after a five-match losing streak. Though Kournikova returned serve well and covered the court exceptionally, she didn't seem to stand much of a chance.

"Obviously, I have nothing to lose," Kournikova said. "I was trying to play smart, because obviously I can't overpower her, even though some times today, I thought I did.

"We both played well, and we had some great rallies. I had more chances in the second set, but she just came out and served well. I think I was pretty close."

Kournikova broke Williams' serve and took a lead in both sets, but Williams rallied twice for her eighth straight victory over Kournikova -- her third in 2002. Williams was down 2-4 in the second set, but she won the final four games.

"At that point, I realized that I was just pushing a lot of balls back, and I had to step it up," Williams said. "Once I realized that, I started putting a little more mustard on it."

Davenport and Clijsters both easily won their quarterfinal matches to advance to a meeting Saturday night at the Taube Family Tennis Center. Williams will face Raymond, who upset third-seeded Monica Seles.

Though she said afterward that it was one of her better matches since returning from the broken foot that kept her out for much of 2001, Kournikova spiked several balls on the court in frustration and questioned several line calls. She made a string of unforced errors in the first set, and she struggled against Williams' serve late in the second set.

"The last couple of matches we've played, we were fairly close," Kournikova said. "I felt like I was actually in control of some of the points, so that's a great step for me. It wasn't close because she was making errors. Actually, I really loved it out there."

Earlier, Raymond beat Seles 6-4, 6-2. The second-seeded Davenport defeated No. 5 Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia 6-2, 6-2, while Clijsters beat wild card Jelena Jankovic 7-5, 6-3.

Seles, a nine-time Grand Slam champion who reached the quarterfinals of the French Open and Wimbledon this year, was simply overpowered by her U.S. Fed Cup teammate on a hot day.

"I feel great about going out there and maintaining that level of tennis for two straight sets," Raymond said. "I know it's been in me. It was just a matter of believing in myself. When I get out there with a top player, I don't believe I should be out on the court with them sometimes."

Raymond, a doubles specialist who won her third career singles tournament at Memphis earlier this year, needed just 58 minutes to earn her second career victory over Seles, a two-time winner at Stanford.

"She just played really well," said Seles, ranked No. 4. "She was serving well and hitting her forehand, and whenever I had chances, I made a lot of unforced errors. I have to play a better level of tennis if I want to beat a player like that."

In the first match of the day, Davenport looked as comfortable as she did in earning the world's top ranking in 2001 before a knee injury ended her season in November.

"I have far exceeded my expectations by the way I'm playing," said Davenport, who fell to No. 9 while she was out. "I've been off for more than nine months, and I didn't know how I'd react."

Davenport reacted with grace and fluidity on the court, overpowering the sixth-ranked player with hard ground strokes and placement in 48 minutes.

"I had the same problems against her I had before," said Dokic, who fell to 0-7 against Davenport. "I didn't see a difference."

 

Related information

Stories

Kournikova advances to quarters at Bank of the West

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video