Venus cruises in Acura opener

San Diego, CA (Sports Network) - Venus Williams, fresh off her fourth Wimbledon title, breezed past Anastassia Rodionova in the first round of the $1.34 million Acura Classic.
Williams, seeded 10th, ousted the Russian Rodionova, 6-3, 6-0 at La Costa Resort and Spa. Williams is playing her first tournament since capturing the sixth Grand Slam of her career at Wimbledon.
Ninth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva, a two-time major runner-up, held off Colombian wild card Catalina Castano 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, while 11th-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland smoked American Jamea Jackson, 6-2, 6-1.
Thirteenth-seeded Frenchwoman Tatiana Golovin needed three sets to beat Argentine Gisela Dulko, 6-1, 2-6, 6-2, and 14th-seeded Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko overcame Chinese Shuai Peng 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to move on.
Additional first-round wins came for American Vania King, Russians Elena Bovina and Maria Kirilenko, Japanese Aiko Nakamura, German Angelique Kerber, Greek Eleni Daniilidou, Frenchwoman Camille Pin, Thai Tamarine Tanasugarn, Michaella Krajicek of The Netherlands and Anne Kremer of Luxembourg.
This week's top seed, Russian superstar Maria Sharapova, beat Belgian Kim Clijsters in last year's hardcourt finale here. The former world No. 1 Sharapova, who is also the reigning U.S. Open champ and Aussie Open runner-up, has a first-round bye.

Moya, Canas to meet in Umag semis

Umag, Croatia (Sports Network) - Four-time winner Carlos Moya and another former champ, Guillermo Canas, were a pair of quarterfinal winners Friday at the $485,000 Croatia Open. Moya and Canas will do battle in Saturday's semifinals at this clay-court event.
The sixth-seeded Moya upended his fourth-seeded fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 7-5, 6-4. The former world No. 1 and 1998 French Open titlist Moya titled here in 1996, 2001, 2002 and 2003 and was the runner-up in 2005. Ferrer reached the final here in 2004.
The fifth-seeded Argentine Canas, the 2004 Umag titlist, blew past Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-2, 6-1 on Day 5 at ITC Stella Maris.
In other quarterfinal action, veteran Romanian Andrei Pavel came from behind to bounce seventh-seeded Italian Filippo Volandri 1-6, 6-2, 6-3, while upstart Serbian qualifier Viktor Troicki landed in his first ATP semifinal by besting Argentine Carlos Berlocq 7-5, 6-2. Volandri was the back-to-back Umag runner- up in 2003 and 2004. Troicki stunned his top-seeded countryman Novak Djokovic here on Wednesday.
Pavel will battle Troicki in Saturday's other semi.

Schiavone moves into Gastein Ladies semis

Bad Gastein, Austria (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Italian Francesca Schiavone outlasted last week's Palermo champion Agnes Szavay to reach the semifinals at the inaugural $175,000 Gastein Ladies tennis event.
Schiavone snuck past the sixth-seeded Szavay 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 6-4 on Day 5 at this clay-court tournament. The surprising Szavay was riding a seven-match winning streak.
Up next for Schiavone will be fourth-seeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi, who got past Czech Renata Voracova 6-4, 3-6, 6-0. Saturday's other semi will pit seventh-seeded Italian Karin Knapp against Austrian crowd favorite Yvonne Meusburger, as Knapp overcame Spanish qualifier Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1, while Meusburger upended eighth-seeded Spaniard Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-1, 6-4 in Friday's quarterfinals.

Robredo falls in Kitzbuhel quarters

Kitzbuhel, Austria (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo was upended by fifth-seeded Argentine Juan Monaco in Friday's quarterfinal action at the $1.085 million Austrian Open.
Monaco dismissed the world No. 7 Robredo in 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 fashion on the red clay at Casino Stadion. Monaco improved to 2-14 in his career against top-10 competition.
Meanwhile, sixth-seeded and defending champion Agustin Calleri avoided an upset by handling 2001 Kitzbuhel titlist Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador 7-6 (7-5), 6-1. Lapentti was the 15th seed this week.
Calleri beat Juan Ignacio Chela in last year's all-Argentine finale here.
In other round-of-eight play, 10th-seeded Potito Starace overcame fellow Italian Andreas Seppi 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (9-7) and 11th-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco held off Argentine Sergio Roitman 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 6-3. Verdasco reached the Kitzbuhel final in 2005, while Seppi was a finalist in Gstaad just two weeks ago.
Saturday's semifinals will pit Calleri against Starace and Monaco versus Verdasco. Wins by Calleri and Monaco would produce an all-Argentine finale on Sunday.

Top-seeded Schiavone eases past Gagliardi at Gastein Ladies

BAD GASTEIN, Austria (AP) -- Top-seeded Francesca Schiavone beat Emmanuelle Gagliardi of Switzerland 6-0, 6-4 Wednesday in the first round of the Gastein Ladies.
The 31st-ranked Italian easily won the first set in about 20 minutes, but had to fight back from 2-0 down in the second. Third-seeded Roberta Vinci of Italy was upset by Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany 6-4, 2-6, 6-0.
Groenefeld double-faulted 13 times, but No. 52 Vinci, who won her first WTA title in February, converted only two of eight break points.
Sixth-seeded Agnes Szavay of Hungary routed Tina Schiechtl of Austria, 6-0, 6-1.
Also, eighth-seeded Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain advanced after defeatomg Tatjana Malek of Germany 6-4, 7-5.
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain defeated Jelena Kostanic Tosic of Croatia 6-4, 6-0, and Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia won 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 against Flavia Pennetta of Italy.
Maria Emilia Salerni of Argentina beat Maria Elena Camerin of Italy 6-4, 7-6 (4), while Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic defeated wildcard Melanie Klaffner of Austria, 6-4, 6-3.
Also through to the second round: Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic, who beat Andreja Klepac of Slovenia 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1; and qualifier Laura Pous Tio of Spain, who defeated Ekaterina Bychkova of Russia 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 6-2.

Top-seeded Djokovic ousted in second round

Umag, Croatia (Sports Network) - Viktor Troicki pulled off the upset of the tournament, edging top seed Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the second round of the $485,000 Croatia Open.
By pulling off the upset over his fellow Serb, Troicki dismissed last year's runner-up and this year's favorite in Djokovic.
Fifth-seeded Argentine Guillermo Canas was also among Wednesday's second-round winners. The 2004 Umag titlist, Canas disposed of Spaniard Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 6-4, 6-3 on the red clay at ITC Stella Maris.
Argentine Carlos Berlocq overcame a tough first-set loss on Tuesday in order to defeat Romanian Victor Hanescu 6-7 (13-15), 6-4, 6-2, while Frenchman Gilles Simon held off Croatian favorite Marin Cilic 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. Simon should have his hands full with the gritty Canas in Friday's quarterfinals.
Thursday's schedule will include second-round matches for fourth-seeded and 2002 Umag finalist David Ferrer, sixth-seeded and four-time champion Carlos Moya and seventh-seeded and two-time runner-up Filippo Volandri. The former world No. 1 Moya titled here in 1996, 2001, 2002 and 2004 and was the runner- up in 2005, while Volandri was the back-to-back runner-up here in 2003 and 2004.

Robredo, Calleri win; Youzhny, Ferrero fall in Kitzbuhel

Kitzbuhel, Austria (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo and reigning champion Agustin Calleri notched second-round wins, while second- seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny and third-seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero came up losers at $1.085 million Austrian Open.
Robredo handled Argentine Juan-Pablo Guzman 6-1, 6-4, while a sixth-seeded Calleri topped Austrian qualifier Rainer Eitzinger 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) on the red clay at Casino Stadion. Calleri beat Juan Ignacio Chela in last year's all- Argentine finale here.
A fourth-seeded Chela snuck past Austrian wild card Daniel Koellerer 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Day 3.
Meanwhile, Youzhny succumbed to Austrian crowd favorite Alexander Peya 7-5, 6-0, while the former world No. 1 and 2002 Kitzbuhel runner-up Ferrero gave way to improving Italian Andreas Seppi 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-2. Seppi was a runner-up in Gstaad earlier this month.
Fifth-seeded Argentine Juan Monaco moved on by outlasting his countryman Mariano Zabaleta 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.
Seventh-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro reached the third round by besting his countryman Ivan Navarro Pastor 7-5, 6-3, while eighth-seeded German Florian Mayer mauled Argentine Martin Vassallo Arguello 6-1, 6-3. Almagro reached a final in Sweden just two weeks ago.
In other second-round play involving top-10 seeds, No. 9 German Philipp Kohlschreiber doused Chilean Paul Capdeville 6-4, 6-1 and No. 10 Italian Potito Starace stopped Belgian qualifier Christophe Rochus 6-2, 6-2.
Other seeded second-round winners were No. 11 Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, No. 14 Russian Igor Andreev and No. 15 Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador. Lapentti titled here back in 2001, while Verdasco was a finalist in 2005.
More upsets came when Argentine Diego Hartfield overcame 12th-seeded Spaniard Oscar Hernandez 5-7, 6-0, 6-3, Argentine Sergio Roitman knocked out 13th- seeded Chilean Nicolas Massu 7-5, 6-2 and Italian qualifier Fabio Fognini came back to bounce No. 16 Austrian Werner Eschauer, last week's runner-up at the Dutch Open. Fognini saved a match point here on Day 3. Massu titled here in 2004 and was the runner-up in 2003.
The first round concluded early on Wednesday, with victories coming for Guzman, Zabaleta, Roitman, Vassallo Arguello and French qualifier Laurent Recouderc.

Chakvetadze tops Morigami in Cincinnati final

Cincinnati, OH (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze downed Akiko Morigami of Japan in straight sets to capture the $175,000 Western & Southern Financial Open title.
Chakvetadze cruised to an easy first set win and held on in the second set to clinch a 6-1, 6-3 win in just over an hour.
Morigami, seeded seventh, advanced to the final by storming back to defeat wild card Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan, 6-7 (8-10), 6-4, 6-3 in a marathon match that took two hours and 28 minutes to complete on Saturday.
Chakvetadze, meanwhile, fought past third-seed Sania Mirza 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 to cement her spot in the final.
It was her second victory over Mirza this year, as these two also played in the semifinals of a smaller event in Hobart before the Australian Open in January, with Chakvetadze winning, 6-4, 6-1. That win propelled her into the final where she topped countrywoman Vasilisa Bardina to earn her third Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title.
For her efforts, Chakvetadze pockets $25,840.

Szavay wins Palermo title

Palermo, Italy (Sports Network) - Agnes Szavay of Hungary captured her first career WTA Tour singles title with a straight-set rout of Germany's Martina Muller in the final of the Palermo International.
The eighth-seeded Szavay cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 victory in her first career WTA final. She had previously reached a pair of semifinals, including a loss to Gisela Dulko in Budapest this past April.
Szavay, just 18 years old, also reached the semifinals in Modena in 2005, beating Muller in the qualifying round of that event -- their only previous meeting.
Muller, seeded second this week, was trying for her second career title. Her only previous crown came in 2002 in Budapest.

Darcis wins first ATP final at Dutch Open

Amersfoort, Netherlands (Sports Network) - Belgian qualifier Steve Darcis upended unseeded Werner Eschauer of Austria in straight sets Sunday to win the Dutch Open title.
It was the first career ATP championship for Darcis who came from behind and stunned second seed Mikhail Youzhny in the semifinals on Saturday.
It took just over 90 minutes for Darcis to dismiss the Austrian in the first career matchup for the two players. Darcis dominated the first set and then blitzed the Austrian in the tiebreaker of a hard fought second frame en route to the 6-1, 7-6 (7-1) victory.
The 33-year old Eschauer, who was playing in the first ATP final of his 13- year pro career, was seeking to become the oldest first-time ATP titlist since Wayne Arthurs won at 33 years, 11 months in 2005.
Eschauer upset third seed Carlos Moya in the quarterfinals and then whipped Dutchman Robin Haase 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the finals.

Stanislas Wawrinka wins Mercedes Cup

Stuttgart, Germany (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal continued his amazing success on clay with a straight-set victory over Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka in the final of the Mercedes Cup.
The top-seeded Nadal was pushed by the unseeded Wawrinka, but still had enough to pull out a 6-4, 7-5 triumph for his sixth title of 2007 and the 23rd of his brilliant career. He also won this tournament in 2005.
Despite the straight-set scores, Wawrinka was ahead in both sets. Nadal had to win the last three games of the first set, then trailed 2-5 in the second before rallying to win the final five games.
Nadal has now won 93 of his last 94 matches on clay, with his only loss in that span a setback to world No. 1 Roger Federer in a final at Hamburg in May. Of course, Nadal avenged that setback a few weeks later by beating Federer in the French Open final for his third straight championship at Roland Garros.
This was the Spanish sensation's first tournament since losing to Federer in the final at Wimbledon. Nadal improved to 18-1 lifetime in clay finals and 23-5 in finals on all surfaces.
Wawrinka was trying for his second career ATP title and first since capturing last year's tournament in Umag. He was also a runner-up two years ago in Gstaad.
This was just the second meeting between the two, with Nadal also winning at this year's Australian Open.

Eschauer, Darcis to meet in Dutch Open final

Amersfoort, Netherlands (Sports Network) - Werner Eschauer of Austria and Belgian Steve Darcis posted semifinal victories on Saturday at the Dutch Open.
Eschauer, who upset third seed Carlos Moya in the quarterfinals, whipped Dutchman Robin Haase 6-4, 6-4 to advance to his first-ever final that will take place Sunday.
Haase was worn out after completing his quarterfinal matchup against Frenchman Florent Serra on Saturday after it was suspended in the first set because of rain on Friday. When play resumed on Saturday, Haase battled from behind to take out Serra 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Eschauer's opponent in the final will be Darcis, who came from behind and stunned second seed Mikhail Youzhny 4-6, 6-0, 7-5.

Muller, Szavay to meet in Palermo final

Palermo, Italy (Sports Network) - Martina Muller and Agnes Szavay will meet in the final of the Palermo Open after both were victorious in their semifinal matches on Saturday.
Muller, the second-seed from Germany, needed three sets to oust Italian Karin Knapp, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
Szavay, the third-seed from Poland, dominated a first-set tiebreaker with Italian Sara Errani to win 7-6 (7-0), 6-1 and reach her first career final.
Szavay and Muller have squared off once before, with Szavay winning in the quarterfinal round at Modena.

Nadal moves into Stuttgart final

Stuttgart, Germany (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Rafael Nadal advanced to the final at the Mercedes Cup after posting a victory in the semifinals on Saturday.
Nadal, who won this title in 2005, defeated fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, 6-1, 7-5. Nadal has now won 92 of his last 93 matches on clay and is aiming for his sixth title of the year and 23rd overall.
Nadal will meet Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland in Sunday's final after Wawrinka upset seventh-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 6-1.
Wawrinka has just one ATP title to his credit, capturing the crown last year in Umag.
Nadal and Wawrinka have met just once before with the Spaniard winning at this year's Australian Open.

Andreev highlights second-round winners at Dutch Open

Amersfoort, Netherlands (Sports Network) - Unseeded Russian Igor Andreev rallied to win his second-round match against No. 4 Filippo Volandri at the Dutch Open Thursday.Reaching his fourth claycourt quarterfinal this year, Andreev downed Volandri 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, improving his season mark to 23-17.Andreev will face Belgian qualifier Steve Darcis, who handled Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 to advance to his first ATP quarterfinal.Also reaching quarterfinal action was No. 3 Carlos Moya of Spain with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Argentine Mariano Zabaleta. Moya will meet Austrian Werner Eschaur, who downed Dutchman Raemon Sluiter 6-2, 6-4.

Muller advances in Palermo

Palermo, Italy (Sports Network) - Martina Muller of Germany was a second- round winner Tuesday at the Internazionali Open.
The second-seeded Muller posted a 6-2, 6-1 rout of Spain's Conchita Martinez Granados. Muller is the highest remaining seeded player in the clay court event after top-seeded Michaella Krajicek was upset on Monday.
A pair of Italians were also cruised into the next round, as wild card Sara Errani toppled Czech qualifier Eva Birnerova, 6-2, 6-0 and Flavia Pennetta easily knocked off Romania's Edina Gallovits by a 6-3, 6-1 final.
Germany's Tatjana Malek closed out the first round matches with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Hungary's Kira Nagy.

Youzhny highlights second-round winners at Dutch Open

Amersfoort, Netherlands (Sports Network) - Second-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny cruised in second-round action of the Dutch Open Wednesday.
Youzhny easily downed Romanian Victor Hanescu, 6-4, 6-2, on the red clay of Sportlokaal de Bokkeduinen.
Youzhny is the highest remaining seeded player after top seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko was ousted in the first round on Tuesday.
Fellow Russian Evgeny Korolev, Frenchman Florent Serra and Robin Haase, of the Netherlands, were also second-round winners on Wednesday.
Korolev beat Sergio Roitman, of Argentina, 7-5, 7-6 (8-6), and Serra ousted local favorite Thiemo de Bakker, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5). Haase downed France's Nicolas Devilder, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Nadal, Ferrer cruise in Mercedes Cup openers

Stuttgart, Germany (Sports Network) - Spaniards Rafael Nadal and defending champion David Ferrer were among the first-round winners Tuesday at the Mercedes Cup.
The top-seeded Nadal rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Germany's Alexander Waske, while the fourth-seeded Ferrer breezed past Slovakian qualifier Lukas Lacko, 6-2, 6-2.
It was total domination for Nadal, who needed just 73 minutes to advance. The Spaniard, who won this title in 2005, saved both break points he faced and went on to improve to 27-1 on clay this year. He has won 89 of his last 90 matches on the slow surface.
Ferrer, meanwhile, won in just 51 minutes. He is coming off a victory last week at the clay tournament in Bastad.
Third-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic also eased into the second round with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador, while Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero and Argentines Juan Ignacio Chela and Juan Monaco were other seeded winners.
The sixth-seeded Ferrero trounced Argentina's Gaston Gaudio, 6-1, 6-2, while the seventh-seeded Chela earned a 6-3, 6-3 win over Max Mirnyi of Belarus. The eighth-seeded Monaco had little trouble in a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic.
Fifth-seeded Guillermo Canas of Argentina was forced to retire in the third set of his match against Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka. A right thigh injury forced Canas to stop after Wawrinka had won the first game of the decisive set.
Stefan Koubek of Austria, Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, Spain's Feliciano Lopez and Diego Hartfield of Argentina were also winners Tuesday.
Kohlschreiber's win earned him a second-round matchup with Nadal.

Pair of upsets highlight Dutch Open

Amersfoort, Netherlands (Sports Network) - Unseeded Frenchman Nicolas Devilder blitzed fifth-seeded Agustin Calleri in the opening round of the Dutch Open Monday.
Devilder needed less than an hour to dispatch the Argentine, 6-3, 6-1 in the clay court tournament.
Meanwhile sixth-seeded Dominik Hrbaty also fell. Evgeny Korolev of Russia dispatched the Slovakian star in three sets, 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3.
There were no other seeded players scheduled for action Monday.
Other first round winners included hometown favorite Robin Haase, who defeated Spaniard Felix Mantilla, 6-3, 6-2, and Argentine Mariano Zabaleta, who got the best of Kristof Vliegen of Belgium, 6-3, 6-3.
Frenchman Gilles Simon upended Spaniard Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, 6-2, 6-4, and Victor Hanescu of Romania outlasted Spaniard Albert Montanes, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4).
Chile's Nicolas Massu and Dutchman Thiemo De Baker had their first-round match suspended by darkness with Massu holding a 5-4 lead. Also, Sergio Roitman, of Argentina, and Frenchman Jeremy Chardy had their match suspended due to rain with it knotted at 6-6.
Top-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko faces Frenchman Florent Serra in his opening match while fellow Russian Mikhail Youzhny, the second seed, is set to face off with Martin Vassallo Arguello in his first test.

Santoro, Mahut advance in Hall of Fame semis

Newport, RI (Sports Network) - Fifth-seeded Frenchman Nicolas Mahut and countryman No. 4 Fabrice Santoro both advanced in Saturday's semifinal action at the $416,000 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships.
Mahut, who also reached the title match at the Artois Championships falling to four-time champion Andy Roddick this month, downed Dick Norman of Belgium 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2.
Facing Mahut will be countryman and fourth seed Santoro, who edged South Africa's Wesley Moodie 7-6 (7-2), 6-3. Moody had reached the semifinals after upsetting No. 2 Vincent Spadea on Friday.
Santoro, reaching his first final of the year, will meet Mahut for the first time. Santoro's last championship match appearance was in 2002 when he won in Dubai for his fourth career title.

Venus Williams wins; U.S. tied with Russia

Stowe, VT (Sports Network) - Venus Williams battled back in the first and third sets to defeat Nadia Petrova in three sets on Saturday to help the U.S. draw even with Russia in the semifinal showdown between the United States and visiting Russia after the first day of their Fed Cup semifinal matchup at Stowe's Stadium at Topnotch.
Williams, the 2007 Wimbledon champion, trailing 3-4 in the second, came back to with the next three games and walk away with a 7-6, 0-6, 6-4 win.
For the match, Petrova converted on 3-of-3 break points, while Williams was 0-3.
Earlier of Saturday, Russia's Anna Chakvetadze defeated U.S.'s Vania King 6-1, 6-3.
On Sunday, the reverse singles will pit the six-time major titlist Williams against Chakvetadze and King versus Petrova, while the potentially-deciding doubles calls for an American tandem of King and Lisa Raymond to battle a Russian duo of Petrova and Elena Vesnina.
Former world No. 1 stars Serena Williams, of the U.S., and Russian Maria Sharapova and fourth-ranked Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova all pulled out of this week's semi due to injuries, leaving Venus as the biggest star on either roster.
The Americans are captained by Zina Garrison, while the Russians are skippered by Shamil Tarpischev. Garrison also has Meilen Tu at her disposal, while Tarpischev's roster also includes Alla Kudryavtseva.
The United States leads all nations with 17 Fed Cup titles, with the last coming seven years ago.
The U.S. and Russia have met five times in Fed Cup play, with the Americans leading the all-time series 4-1. Russia won the most recent matchup, however, defeating the U.S. in the 2005 semis on the way to its second consecutive -- and second-ever -- Fed Cup crown.
The USA-Russia winner will meet the France-Italy victor in the World Group final in mid-September.

Mauresmo defeated; Italy tied with France

Castellaneta Marina, Italy (Sports Network) - Francesca Schiavone stunned former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo in straight sets Saturday to help Italy draw even with France after the first day of their Fed Cup semifinal matchup at Nova Yardina.
Schiavone, the 31st-ranked player in the world, followed a strong first set and an early break in the second to escape with the 7-5, 6-3 win. The Italian broke Mauresmo, the sixth ranked player, to go ahead 1-0 in the second and held serve the rest of the way on the red clay.
Earlier in the day, France's Tatiana Golovin defeated Italy's Tathiana Garbin, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.
After Garbin won the final five games of the second to force the decisive set, the duo exchanged a pair of breaks early in the third. Then, on serve at 3-2, Golovin broke Garbin to take control on her way to winning the final four games of the set for the win.
For the match, Golovin converted 7-of-12 break points.
Sunday's reverse singles currently call for Garbin to take on Mauresmo and Schiavone to tangle with Golovin, while Sunday's potentially-deciding doubles rubber will pit an Italian tandem of Mara Santangelo and Roberta Vinci against a French duo of Severine Bremond and Nathalie Dechy.
France is captained by Georges Goven, while the hosts are skippered by Corrado Barazzutti.
The Italians corralled their first-ever Fed Cup championship last year by topping Belgium 3-2 in the final in Charleroi.
France is a two-time champion in this team event, capturing the chalice in 1997 and 2003. The French also posted back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2004 and 2005.
The French are a commanding 6-1 all-time against the Italians, dating back to 1970, but Italy's lone victory in the series came in last year's opening round (4-1) in France.
Italy and France are two of only four nations to have competed in every Fed Cup.
The Italy-France winner will meet the United States-Russia victor in the World Group final in mid-September.

Ferrer advances, Moya ousted at Swedish Open

Bastad, Sweden (Sports Network) - Second-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer and fellow countryman Nicolas Almagro advanced to the Swedish Open final with semifinal wins on Saturday.
Ferrer needed just over an hour to cruise past fifth-seeded Italian Filippo Volandri, 6-2, 6-1, while Almagro defeated fourth-seeded countryman Carlos Moya, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2, on the clay court.
After splitting the first two sets, Almagro broke Moya in the second game of the third set and jumped out to a 4-1 lead. Moya, the 2002 champion at this event, missed out on a break point in the seventh game that would have drawn him within 4-3, but Almagro held and broke Moya for the win.
Both players have won a title this year. Ferrer, though, owns three career titles compared to just two for Almagro.
Sunday will mark the third meeting between these two players. Ferrer, the 15th-ranked player in the world, won both, which came on hard courts.

Almagro is the 37th ranked player in the world.

Mathieu, Seppi advance to Swiss Open final

Gstaad, Switzerland (Sports Network) - Fifth-seeded Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu and Italian Andreas Seppi advanced to the final of the Swiss Open Gstaad by recording semifinal wins on Saturday.
Mathieu, the only seeded player remaining, downed Czech qualifier Radek Stepanek, 6-3, 6-4, while Seppi stopped Russian Igor Andreev, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) on the red clay of Roy Emerson Arena.
Seppi downed Andreev, a former finalist at this event, for the first time in five meetings. Sunday will mark his first final appearance, becoming the first Italian to advance to the title match at this tournament since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
Andreev celebrated his 24th birthday on Saturday.
Mathieu, meanwhile, needed just 73 minutes to cruise to his fifth title match. He own three titles, last winning the Casablanca crown in April.
Mathieu, the 28th ranked player in the world, has won the only two meetings lifetime against Seppi, who is ranked 111th in the world.

Spadea falls in Hall of Fame quarters

Newport, RI (Sports Network) - South African Wesley Moodie upended second- seeded and former finalist Vincent Spadea in Friday's quarterfinal action at the $416,000 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships.
The unseeded Moodie dismissed the American Spadea in 6-4, 6-4 fashion on the grass courts at the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The veteran Spadea reached the final here two years ago, only to lose to Greg Rusedski.
Moodie will meet fourth-seeded Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, who cruised past Mischa Zverev 6-4,6-3.
Fifth-seeded Frenchman Nicolas Mahut secured a berth in the final four by handling Indian qualifier Prakash Amritraj 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), while big Belgian Dick Norman outlasted qualifier and fellow non-seed Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Mahut and the 6-foot-8 Norman will square off in Saturday's other semi.

King will open for U.S. against Russia in Fed Cup semis

Stowe, VT (Sports Network) - American teenager Vania King will face Anna Chakvetadze in Saturday's opening singles rubber in the Fed Cup semifinal showdown between the United States and visiting Russia.
The best-of-five tie will be staged on a hardcourt at Stowe's Stadium at Topnotch on Saturday and Sunday. The USA-Russia winner will meet the France- Italy victor in the World Group final in mid-September.
The 18-year-old King and world No. 8 Chakvetadze will be followed on Saturday by a bout between Wimbledon champion Venus Williams and ninth-ranked Russian Nadia Petrova.
On Sunday, the reverse singles will pit the six-time major titlist Williams against Chakvetadze and King versus Petrova, while the potentially-deciding doubles calls for an American tandem of King and Lisa Raymond to battle a Russian duo of Petrova and Elena Vesnina.
Former world No. 1 stars Serena Williams, of the U.S., and Russian Maria Sharapova and fourth-ranked Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova all pulled out of this week's semi due to injuries, leaving Venus as the biggest star on either roster.
The Americans are captained by Zina Garrison, while the Russians are skippered by Shamil Tarpischev. Garrison also has Meilen Tu at her disposal, while Tarpischev's roster also includes Alla Kudryavtseva.
The United States leads all nations with 17 Fed Cup titles, with the last coming seven years ago.
The U.S. and Russia have met five times in Fed Cup play, with the Americans leading the all-time series 4-1. Russia won the most recent matchup, however, defeating the U.S. in the 2005 semis on the way to its second consecutive -- and second-ever -- Fed Cup crown.

Andreev ousts Gasquet in Swiss Open quarters

Gstaad, Switzerland (Sports Network) - Former finalist Igor Andreev of Russia upset defending champion Richard Gasquet in Friday's quarterfinal action at the Swiss Open Gstaad.
The 2004 runner-up Andreev, a wild card this week, knocked out the third- seeded Gasquet 7-5, 6-2 on the red clay at Roy Emerson Arena. The French Gasquet was riding a seven-match winning streak at this tournament, including a victory over Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in last year's finale.
Gasquet reached the semifinals at Wimbledon last week, only to lose to Swiss great Roger Federer.
Andreev, who will turn 24 on Saturday, posted his ninth career victory against a top-10 player by dousing Gasquet on Day 5. Gasquet made his debut in the top 10 just this week.
Fifth-seeded Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu avoided an upset by holding off countryman Gael Monfils 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, while another upset occurred when Czech qualifier Radek Stepanek took out sixth-seeded Frenchman Marc Gicquel 6-3, 6-3.
One other quarterfinal result saw Italian Andreas Seppi stop Argentine Martin Vassallo Arguello 6-4, 6-0.
Saturday's semifinals will pit Mathieu against Stepanek and Andreev versus Seppi. Mathieu is the only seed still standing here.

Venus pads Hall credentials

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - A recently-overlooked Venus Williams added to her Hall of Fame credentials last week by capturing her fourth Wimbledon and sixth major title.
The former world No. 1 Venus Ebony Starr Williams often has her spotlight stolen by her younger (and more talented) sister Serena, but the 27-year-old Venus pulled within two Grand Slam singles titles of Serena by securing her fourth Wimbledon championship in eight years when she got past upstart Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in last week's finale at the storied All England Club.
Aside from Bartoli, some of Venus' other victims at the AEC were French Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic in the semis, fellow former U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarters, and reigning U.S. Open champ and Aussie Open runner-up Maria Sharapova in the fourth round, this after almost losing to little-known Russian Alla Kudryavtseva in the opening round and okay Japanese Akiko Morigami in the third. She won both of those matches by taking third sets at 7-5.
Venus, who turned pro 13 long years ago, has now appeared in 12 Grand Slam finals, going an even 6-6. She lost to Serena in back-to-back Wimbledon finales in 2002 and 2003, also gave way to her little sis in the '02 U.S. and French Open finals and succumbed to Serena in the '03 Aussie finale. Venus is actually a weak 1-5 versus her younger sister in major finals, with her lone victory coming at the '01 U.S. Open.
So just imagine how many major titles Venus might have if she was the only professional tennis player in her family. Maybe her six Grand Slam tourney wins would be as high as 11, which would equal the tally currently held by the ever-growing legend that is Roger Federer, who notched a men's Open Era- record-tying fifth straight Wimbledon title last week.
As a matter of fact, the last time Venus lost in a Grand Slam final to someone not named Serena was 10 long years ago against Martina Hingis in New York.
Venus and Serena have, however, combined for six major doubles titles. Venus also owns two mixed doubles majors, giving her a combined 14 Grand Slam event championships. The mixed crowns came alongside fellow American Justin Gimelstob, with one of the victories coming against a tandem of Luis Lobo (who?) and...Serena.
FYI: Although Venus is a former No. 1, did you know that she has never finished as a year-end No. 1? She placed inside the year-end top five from 1998-2002, with her best-ever showing resulting in a No. 2 finish in '02. She's placed inside the year-end top 10 in seven out of the last nine campaigns.
Venus, who holds the record for the fastest serve in the history of women's tennis (128.8 mph), is currently 17th in the world, as she moved up 14 spots from No. 31 by virtue of her most recent Wimbledon success. The 6-foot-1 American star is now a stellar 51-7 lifetime at the "Big W."
Only four women have won at least four Wimbledon titles over the last 40 years, and they (legends mostly) are Martina Navratilova (9), Steffi Graf (7), Billie Jean King (6) and Venus.
Tennis company doesn't get much better than that!
And thanks mostly to Venus, the U.S. has produced seven of the last nine women's Wimbledon champions. Prior to this current hot stretch, the tournament had a 17-year streak of non-American-born titlists.

WTA Ranking

WTA Tennis Ranking

Last Update: July 9, 2007, at 09:46 AM ET

Source: OddsandNews.com

Rank	Player	Total Points
1	Justine Henin (BEL)	4457.00
2	Maria Sharapova (RUS)	3678.00
3	Jelena Jankovic (SRB)	3241.00
4	Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)	2978.00
5	Ana Ivanovic (SRB)	2898.00
6	Amelie Mauresmo (FRA)	2424.00
7	Serena Williams (USA)	2380.00
8	Anna Chakvetadze (RUS)	2221.00
9	Nadia Petrova (RUS)	2002.00
10	Nicole Vaidisova (CZE)	1973.00
11	Marion Bartoli (FRA)	1875.00
12	Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)	1857.00
13	Martina Hingis (SUI)	1845.00
14	Dinara Safina (RUS)	1742.00
15	Elena Dementieva (RUS)	1699.00
16	Patty Schnyder (SUI)	1671.00
17	Venus Williams (USA)	1655.00
18	Shahar Peer (ISR)	1529.00
19	Tatiana Golovin (FRA)	1410.00
20	Na Li (CHN)	1159.00
21	Vera Zvonareva (RUS)	1112.00
22	Alona Bondarenko (UKR)	1059.00
23	Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)	1056.00
24	Sybille Bammer (AUT)	1056.00
25	Lucie Safarova (CZE)	1053.00
26	Tathiana Garbin (ITA)	1009.50
27	Mara Santangelo (ITA)	918.00
28	Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP)	898.00
29	Samantha Stosur (AUS)	877.00
30	Ai Sugiyama (JPN)	868.00
31	Francesca Schiavone (ITA)	804.00
32	Michaella Krajicek (NED)	786.00
33	Martina Muller (GER)	636.00
34	Olga Poutchkova (RUS)	623.00
35	Tamira Paszek (AUT)	611.75
36	Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)	605.50
37	Emilie Loit (FRA)	599.50
38	Sania Mirza (IND)	598.00
39	Meghann Shaughnessy (USA)	589.00
40	Eleni Daniilidou (GRE)	571.50
41	Meilen Tu (USA)	570.50
42	Victoria Azarenka (BLR)	568.50
43	Maria Kirilenko (RUS)	558.00
44	Roberta Vinci (ITA)	554.00
45	Julia Vakulenko (UKR)	543.00
46	Nicole Pratt (AUS)	540.00
47	Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR)	537.75
48	Milagros Sequera (VEN)	537.00
49	Gisela Dulko (ARG)	533.75
50	Aravane Rezai (FRA)	519.50
51	Kaia Kanepi (EST)	513.75
52	Nathalie Dechy (FRA)	510.00
53	Agnes Szavay (HUN)	499.25
54	Laura Granville (USA)	497.00
55	Elena Likhovtseva (RUS)	487.00
56	Virginie Razzano (FRA)	482.00
57	Aiko Nakamura (JPN)	479.50
58	Elena Vesnina (RUS)	478.75
59	Shuai Peng (CHN)	471.00
60	Akiko Morigami (JPN)	461.75
61	Lourdes Dominguez Lino (ESP)	461.00
62	Yung-Jan Chan (TPE)	460.00
63	Severine Bremond (FRA)	443.75
64	Vera Dushevina (RUS)	433.75
65	Jill Craybas (USA)	433.50
66	Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS)	431.00
67	Lindsay Davenport (USA)	427.00
68	Alicia Molik (AUS)	423.75
69	Karin Knapp (ITA)	419.75
70	Vasilisa Bardina (RUS)	411.00
71	Maria Elena Camerin (ITA)	410.00
72	Edina Gallovits (ROU)	392.50
73	Angelique Kerber (GER)	390.25
74	Tatiana Poutchek (BLR)	387.50
75	Tzipora Obziler (ISR)	383.00
76	Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)	382.50
77	Jie Zheng (CHN)	381.75
78	Ioana Raluca Olaru (ROU)	378.75
79	Anastasia Rodionova (RUS)	378.50
80	Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP)	375.50
81	Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA)	375.00
82	Iveta Benesova (CZE)	369.50
83	Yvonne Meusburger (AUT)	368.50
84	Vania King (USA)	368.50
85	Camille Pin (FRA)	362.75
86	Ashley Harkleroad (USA)	356.00
87	Yaroslava Shvedova (RUS)	355.00
88	Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)	353.50
89	Jarmila Gajdosova (SVK)	351.50
90	Jelena Kostanic Tosic (CRO)	349.75
91	Klara Zakopalova (CZE)	348.50
92	Flavia Pennetta (ITA)	344.00
93	Tatjana Malek (GER)	339.75
94	Timea Bacsinszky (SUI)	339.50
95	Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN)	339.00
96	Stephanie Cohen-Aloro (FRA)	335.00
97	Catalina Castano (COL)	333.50
98	Olga Savchuk (UKR)	331.50
99	Bethanie Mattek (USA)	325.50
100	Greta Arn (GER)	324.75

ATP Ranking

ATP Tennis Ranking

Last Update: July 9, 2007, at 09:52 AM ET

Source: OddsandNews.com

Rank	Player	Total Points
1	Federer,Roger/SUI	7290
2	Nadal,Rafael/ESP	5225
3	Djokovic,Novak/SRB	3310
4	Roddick,Andy/USA	3230
5	Davydenko,Nikolay/RUS	3185
6	Gonzalez,Fernando/CHI	2780
7	Gasquet,Richard/FRA	2220
8	Robredo,Tommy/ESP	2200
9	Blake,James/USA	2075
10	Berdych,Tomas/CZE	2045
11	Haas,Tommy/GER	2035
12	Ljubicic,Ivan/CRO	1940
13	Murray,Andy/GBR	1935
14	Youzhny,Mikhail/RUS	1875
15	Ferrer,David/ESP	1610
16	Canas,Guillermo/ARG	1607
17	Ferrero,Juan Carlos/ESP	1505
18	Baghdatis,Marcos/CYP	1370
19	Chela,Juan Ignacio/ARG	1335
20	Moya,Carlos/ESP	1260
21	Hewitt,Lleyton/AUS	1230
22	Safin,Marat/RUS	1165
23	Nieminen,Jarkko/FIN	1125
24	Nalbandian,David/ARG	1115
25	Tursunov,Dmitry/RUS	1080
26	Soderling,Robin/SWE	1035
27	Volandri,Filippo/ITA	1015
28	Mathieu,Paul-Henri/FRA	970
29	Calleri,Agustin/ARG	960
30	Melzer,Jurgen/AUT	945
31	Monaco,Juan/ARG	935
32	Hrbaty,Dominik/SVK	930
33	Clement,Arnaud/FRA	895
34	Kohlschreiber,Philipp/GER	880
35	Mayer,Florian/GER	853
36	Malisse,Xavier/BEL	850
37	Almagro,Nicolas/ESP	810
38	Fish,Mardy/USA 770	255
39	Ancic,Mario/CRO	765
40	Karlovic,Ivo/CRO	747
41	Gicquel,Marc/FRA	746
42	Verdasco,Fernando/ESP	730
43	Lee,Hyung-Taik/KOR	726
44	Ginepri,Robby/USA	720
45	Becker,Benjamin/GER	719
46	Starace,Potito/ITA	716
47	Montanes,Albert/ESP	712
48	Tipsarevic,Janko/SRB	711
49	Acasuso,Jose/ARG	705
50	Wawrinka,Stanislas/SUI	695
51	Hernandez,Oscar/ESP	680
52	Massu,Nicolas/CHI	675
53	Simon,Gilles/FRA	655
54	Del Potro,Juan Martin/ARG	635
55	Bjorkman,Jonas/SWE	610
56	Benneteau,Julien/FRA	610
57	Monfils,Gael/FRA	607
58	Lapentti,Nicolas/ECU	602
59	Andreev,Igor/RUS	595
60	Delic,Amer/USA	587
61	Lopez,Feliciano/ESP	586
62	Rochus,Olivier/BEL	585
63	Llodra,Michael/FRA	584
64	Eschauer,Werner/AUT	573
65	Koubek,Stefan/AUT	568
66	Spadea,Vincent/USA	564
67	Garcia-Lopez,Guillermo/ESP	563
68	Santoro,Fabrice/FRA	551
69	Russell,Michael/USA	551
70	Henman,Tim/GBR	535
71	Grosjean,Sebastien/FRA	533
72	Berlocq,Carlos/ARG	525
73	Johansson,Thomas/SWE	524
74	Tsonga,Jo-Wilfried/FRA	523
75	Vliegen,Kristof/BEL	519
76	Roitman,Sergio/ARG	518
77	Bolelli,Simone/ITA	513
78	Korolev,Evgeny/RUS	512
79	Gulbis,Ernests/LAT	512
80	Zabaleta,Mariano/ARG	504
81	Srichaphan,Paradorn/THA	500
82	Horna,Luis/PER	493
83	Mahut,Nicolas/FRA	491
84	Serra,Florent/FRA	490
85	Mirnyi,Max/BLR	483
86	Gabashvili,Teimuraz/RUS	482
87	Pless,Kristian/DEN	479
88	Hartfield,Diego/ARG	477
89	Guccione,Chris/AUS	476
90	Querrey,Sam/USA	467
91	Berrer,Michael/GER	466
92	Roger-Vasselin,Edouard/FRA	463
93	Ramirez Hidalgo,Ruben/ESP	455
94	Navarro Pastor,Ivan/ESP	454
95	Goldstein,Paul/USA	446
96	Luczak,Peter/AUS	442
97	Vassallo Arguello,Martin/ARG	440
98	Devilder,Nicolas/FRA	437
99	Kendrick,Robert/USA	436
100	Kunitsyn,Igor/RUS	430