Sport - Tennis

Serena rallies to beat Srebotnik

— Photo: AP

SOLDIERING ON: Serena Williams overcame a sprained ankle and sluggish performance to beat Katarina Srebotnik 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the Family Circle Cup.

CHARLESTON: Serena Williams wince through a sprained ankle and a first-set wobble to beat Slovenia’s Katarina Srebotnik 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 and reach the Family Circle Cup quarterfinals on Thursday.

The fifth-seeded American won the last eight points to set up a clash with Russian No. 2 seed Maria Sharapova, who defeated Ukrainian Tatiana Perebiynis 7-5 6-2.

“I’ll tell you how I feel (on Friday), seeing that I fell and I’ll see how I feel,” Williams told reporters. “When you’re playing and with the adrenaline, you can’t really assess yourself.”

Williams blasted 11 aces and converted four of nine break-point opportunities in the two-hour, 13-minute match against the 12th-seeded Srebotnik.

Top seed and holder Jelena Jankovic of Serbia made quick work of Russian Anastasia Rodionova, winning their third-round match 6-0 6-2 in 52 minutes.

Russia’s fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva and ninth seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia, seventh-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, 10th seed Agnes Szavay of Hungary and unseeded Alize Cornet of France also advanced to the last eight.

Sharapova won her first career claycourt title on Sunday, beating Dominika Cibulkova at Amelia Island.

The Russian, who reached the quarterfinals despite double-faulting to give Perebiynis a set point in the first set, has a 2-4 win-loss record against Williams.

“Both of us like to go for the big shots,” Sharapova said. “And I think considering that this clay is a little faster than normal clay, I think it suits both our games pretty well and hopefully will produce some good tennis.”

With the Williams and Sharapova matches on the stadium court, Jankovic was relegated to the outer Althea Gibson Club Court.

“I didn’t like it, to be honest. I prefer centre court,” she said. “But for me it doesn’t matter. Even if I’m in the parking lot or in a forest or wherever I play, I’ll still go out there and play my game.”

Important results:

At Estoril (ATP & WTA Estoril Open): Women: Quarterfinals: Iveta Benesova bt Camille Pin 3-6, 6-2, 6-3; Maria Kirilenko bt Tathiana Garbin 6-0, 6-1.

Men: Second round: Frederico Gil bt Joao Sousa 7-6(5), 6-2.

At Valencia (ATP Valencia Open): Second round: Robin Haase bt Marat Safin 2-6, 7-6(9), 6-4; Fernando Verdasco bt Mischa Zverev 6-4, 6-2; Nicolas Almagro bt E Schwank 6-3, 6-4; David Ferrer bt Pablo Andujar 6-3, 6-4; Juan Monaco bt Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 6-4; Robin Haase bt Marat Safin 2-6, 7-6(9), 6-4.

At Houston (ATP US claycourt championships): Second round: James Blake bt Ryan Harrison 6-3, 6-2; Agustin Calleri bt Paul Capdeville 6-2, 6-1; Sergio Roitman bt Igor Kunitsyn 6-3, 7-6(3); Marcos Daniel bt Nicolas Massu 7-6(3) 6-2; Marcel Granollers bt Peter Luczak 6-3, 6-2; Wayne Odesnik bt Dudi Sela 6-3, 7-5; Oscar Hernandez bt Donald Young 6-4, 6-4; Mardy Fish bt Hugo Armando 6-3, 6-2.

At Charleston (WTA Family Circle Cup): T hird round: Patty Schnyder bt Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-2; Maria Sharapova bt Tatiana Perebiynis 7-5, 6-2; Elena Dementieva bt Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 7-5; Serena Williams bt Katarina Srebotnik 4-6, 6-4, 6-3; Jelena Jankovic bt Anastasia Rodionova 6-0, 6-2; Alize Cornet bt Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 7-5; Vera Zvonareva bt Marion Bartoli 6-4, 4-6, 6-1; Agnes Szavay bt Dinara Safina 6-2, 7-5. — Agencies

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