Serena, Venus advance in Charleston; Bartoli eliminated

Sisters Venus and Serena Williams, both former Charleston champions, both former #1 players, and winners of a combined total of 20 singles Grand Slam titles are moving slowly but surely to a much anticipated semifinal match-up when they defeated their third round opponents in straight sets. World #10 and 5th seed Serena eliminated 17th-seed Marina Erakovic of New Zealand 62 62, while older sister and wild card entry Venus Williams moved to the quarterfinals with a 75 62 victory over Anastasia Rodionova of Australia.

Other seeds advancing to the quarterfinals are 4th-seed Vera Zvonareva, 6th-seed Sabine Lisicki, 9th-seed Lucie Safarova, and 13th-seed Nadia Petrova. The biggest upset of the day was the three set defeat of 3rd-seed Marion Bartoli. Bartoli was eliminated 64 16 64 by 14th-seed Polona Hercog of Slovakia. The match between 2nd-seed Samantha Stosur and Galina Voskoboeva is delayed by rain. Stosur was leading 4-2 in the first set when play stopped. Venus will play the winner of the Stosur - Voskoboeva match-up. Other quarterfinal matches will pit: Petrova vs Hercog, Zvonareva vs Safarova, and Serena vs Lisicki.

After an injury laden 2011, the 2012 season is promising to be a better year for Serena and Venus. Serena is aiming to win her 2nd Charleston tennis tournament after winning the trophy in 2008 beating Zvonareva in the final. Though the event is held on clay, the faster green clay courts should favor the aggressive style of both Williams sisters. With the withdrawal of top seed and this year's second best player Agnieszka Radwanska on the eve of the tournament, a good showing can mean ranking upgrades for Serena and Venus. Serena would certainly like her chances of boosting her ranking to be amongst the top eight seeds at the French Open.

Venus, meanwhile, is hoping a top 50 ranking will boost her chances of qualifying outright for the Olympic Games where she has won 3 gold medals. Venus dropped below the top 130 ranking after failing to play in tournaments following her diagnosis of the Sjogren's Syndrome at last year's US Open. But, she has moved back into the top 90 with a quarterfinal showing at last month's Miami tennis tournament. At this tournament, Venus has already eliminated 7th-seed Jelena Jankovic including an impressive 6-0 whitewash of the former #1 Serb player. The main challengers for the Williams sisters goal to win the title are fellow former champions Sam Stosur, Nadia Petrova and Sabine Lisicki. This is the third time both Williams sisters have played Charleston in the same year, but it's the first time both have made the quarterfinals the same year.

FAMILY CIRCLE CUP: Charleston, SC, USA
Thursday, April 5, 2012 Results

Singles - Third Round
(14) Polona Hercog (SLO) d. (3) Marion Bartoli (FRA) 64 16 64
(4) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. (Q) Stefanie Voegele (SUI) 57 63 64
(5) Serena Williams (USA) d. (17) Marina Erakovic (NZL) 62 62
(6) Sabine Lisicki (GER) d. (Q) Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 75 64
(13) Nadia Petrova (RUS) d. (8/WC) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 61 64
(9) Lucie Safarova (CZE) d. Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) 62 67(4) 61
(WC) Venus Williams (USA) d. Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) 75 62