Top-seeded Venus Williams defeated Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 7-5 yesterday to advance to the final of the Japan Open.
Williams will face fifth-seeded Virginie Razzano of France in today's final. Razzano defeated Flavia Pennetta of Italy 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Williams, No. 8 in the WTA rankings, had her hands full with the 17-year-old Wozniacki, who took a 4-2 lead in the second set at Ariake Colosseum.
PHOTO: EPA
With a two-game lead, Wozniacki was hoping to take the set and level the match.
But Williams fought back to tie the set 4-4. Wozniacki served to take a 5-4 lead.
Williams appeared to get a break in the next game. With the score tied 30-all, her return looked long but was ruled in, giving Williams a 40-30 lead.
The Wimbledon champion held, then broke Wozniacki to go up 6-5 and served to win the final game.
Williams is playing in the US$175,000 tournament for the first time and is bidding for her fourth title of the season. She won the Korea Open last Sunday.
Qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko upset fifth-seeded Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the Porsche Grand Prix, and top-ranked Justin Henin played her first match since winning the US Open and beat Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-1.
Ivanovic, the runner-up at the French Open and a Wimbledon semifinalist, made too many errors against the hard-hitting Ukrainian, who has never advanced past the quarter-finals of a tournament.
Henin, who also won the French Open this year, took a month off after the US Open.
Henin's next opponent will be Elena Dementieva, who beat eighth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 6-4.
Defending champion Nadia Petrova eased into the quarter-finals with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over another qualifier, Michaella Krajicek.
Another Serb, third-seeded Jelena Jankovic, rallied to beat Shahar Peer 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
The 19-year-old Ivanovic was coming off her third tournament victory this year in Luxembourg, where she also qualified for next month's season-ending WTA Championships in Madrid.
Ivanovic was in trouble immediately against the 46th-ranked Bondarenko. Ivanovic dropped her serve in the opening game and she kept struggling with her serve throughout the match.
The Serb pulled even at 2-2, following two straight double-faults by Bondarenko, but she didn't a win another game in the first set.
With Ivanovic missing from both sides of the court, Bondarenko hit a service winner to end the set.
Stefan Koubek was disqualified from the Open de Moselle on Thursday for directing an on-court tirade at an official during a match with Sebastien Grosjean.
Koubek, who will face a fine, had been leading 5-7, 7-6 (4), 4-2 when the second-round match was interrupted. It has been the only conduct default of the year, according to the ATP.
The Austrian was angered after Grosjean protested a linesman's call on his serve. The linesman originally called the shot out but then said he could not be sure.
The umpire then wanted Grosjean to replay the point, but Koubek asked for supervisor Thomas Karlberg to intervene. The two then argued, and Karlberg said Koubek targeted him with "verbal abuse."
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