Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Associated Press
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Venus Williams, playing her first tournament since October after recovering from a left wrist injury, advanced to the semifinals of the Memphis WTA Tour event Thursday night, beating Laura Granville 7-6 (2), 6-4.
In men's play, top seed Andy Roddick and defending champion Tommy Haas advanced to the Regions Morgan Keegan quarterfinals. Roddick beat Benjamin Becker 7-6 (4), 6-4), and Haas edged Amer Delic 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5).
Williams, a five-time Grand Slam champion seeking her 34th career WTA Tour victory, will face Romania's Ioana Raluca Olaru in the semifinals. Raluca Olaru led fourth-seeded Samantha Stosur 5-1 when Stosur retired because of a viral condition.
In the other quarterfinals, top-seed Shahar Peer of Israel beat Bethanie Mattek 6-0, 6-3, and Meilen Tu defeated defending champion Sofia Arvidsson 6-0, 6-2.
Roddick had a near-flawless serve in the second set, winning 20 of 21 points. He won 16 straight after breaking Becker to go up 2-1.
"I thought I outplayed him from the baseline for the most part," Roddick said. "And I started hitting my forehand a lot better in the tiebreaker and through the second set."
Haas and Delic held their own serving. The match was decided in the tiebreakers.
"I just won a couple of big points here and there," Haas said. "He almost came back in the second one. It was a close match."
The second-seeded Haas will face American teenager Sam Querrey, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over seventh-seeded Julien Benneteau.
Third-seeded Andy Murray, the 19-year-old Scot coming off a victory Sunday in San Jose, Calif., beat Kristian Pless 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Fourth-seeded Mardy Fish also advanced, beating Juan Martin del Potro, 6-1, 7-6 (9). Fish had 22 aces and only one double fault.
"It's as good as I can serve," Fish said.
Sixth-seeded Jurgen Melzer retired in the second set of his match against Yen-Hsun Lu because of a stomach illness.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Venus Williams, playing her first tournament since October after recovering from a left wrist injury, advanced to the semifinals of the Memphis WTA Tour event Thursday night, beating Laura Granville 7-6 (2), 6-4.
In men's play, top seed Andy Roddick and defending champion Tommy Haas advanced to the Regions Morgan Keegan quarterfinals. Roddick beat Benjamin Becker 7-6 (4), 6-4), and Haas edged Amer Delic 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5).
Williams, a five-time Grand Slam champion seeking her 34th career WTA Tour victory, will face Romania's Ioana Raluca Olaru in the semifinals. Raluca Olaru led fourth-seeded Samantha Stosur 5-1 when Stosur retired because of a viral condition.
In the other quarterfinals, top-seed Shahar Peer of Israel beat Bethanie Mattek 6-0, 6-3, and Meilen Tu defeated defending champion Sofia Arvidsson 6-0, 6-2.
Roddick had a near-flawless serve in the second set, winning 20 of 21 points. He won 16 straight after breaking Becker to go up 2-1.
"I thought I outplayed him from the baseline for the most part," Roddick said. "And I started hitting my forehand a lot better in the tiebreaker and through the second set."
Haas and Delic held their own serving. The match was decided in the tiebreakers.
"I just won a couple of big points here and there," Haas said. "He almost came back in the second one. It was a close match."
The second-seeded Haas will face American teenager Sam Querrey, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over seventh-seeded Julien Benneteau.
Third-seeded Andy Murray, the 19-year-old Scot coming off a victory Sunday in San Jose, Calif., beat Kristian Pless 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Fourth-seeded Mardy Fish also advanced, beating Juan Martin del Potro, 6-1, 7-6 (9). Fish had 22 aces and only one double fault.
"It's as good as I can serve," Fish said.
Sixth-seeded Jurgen Melzer retired in the second set of his match against Yen-Hsun Lu because of a stomach illness.