SCHNYDER UPSETS DAVENPORT IN QUARTERS

Determined Venus vanquishes Vera
Revived Martinez takes down tired Petrova

By Ron Cioffi
tennisreporters.net

Ron Cioffi/tr.net

Venus Williams is honing her game on the green clay.

FROM THE FAMILY CIRCLE CUP IN CHARLESTON – This match may not have been a Grand Slam victory, but Venus Williams showed she may be on her way back to championship form.

Williams turned on the afterburners in both sets to dismantle a withering Vera Zvonareva, 6-3, 6-4, in the quarterfinals Friday. Zvonareva had early breaks in both sets, but couldn't slow down Venus when it mattered.

Venus hadn't reached a semifinal in four previous tournaments this year. On Friday, she avenged a stunning loss to the game Russian in Roland Garros' Round of 16.

Moreover, she finally got over on an accomplished Russian (Zvonareva is No. 11) this year as she had fallen to Svetlana Kuznetsova in Doha and Elena Dementieva in Miami.

It was not Venus' greatest performance, as she had 37 winners to 37 unforced errors and four aces to four double faults. But she notable is turned on the power and determination when she needed it.

"I really felt like I could have played a lot better, but then I played a really good player and she played some good points," Venus said. "I don't consider myself a favorite at any tournament. I consider myself the one who has to fight harder than the next person."

That she did. With sister, Serena (who withdrew from the tournament with a bad knee Thursday), and father, Richard, continuously calling on her to "fight" and "get tough," Venus responded. She won six of the last first seven games of the first set and then snuffed out Zvonareva by giving up only six points in winning the matches' last four games.

Zvonareva is "a good player and very determined. So, I definitely had to be on top of my game and not really anything below," Venus said.

Williams needs to take it to her opponents at the net. She had her long arms swinging large, even as Zvonareva tried drop shots and lobs to keep away from Venus' ample power.

She was glad of the strong crowd support. However, she then painted herself as the eternal underdog. "When you're good enough that people are constantly rooting for your opponent ... it was a rather unique situation for [me] today," she said.

Facing Venus in the semis is rising Croat Jelena Kostanic, who broke into the Top 50 this week by reaching her first Tier I semifinal. Kostanic knocked off Hungarian Petra Mandula 7-6 (3), 3-6, 7-5.

Kostanic has never played Williams and said she would go on to court without much forethought or consultation. "I make up my own tactics as I play," she explained.

The Croat might not have much time to figure out Venus' game in the semis. With the way the American was striking the ball on Friday, Kostanic might spend a quick two sets watching winners shoot by.

Revived Martinez takes down tired Petrova

Ron Cioffi/tr.net

Conchita celebrates her 32nd birthday with quarterfinal win.

Conchita Martinez celebrated her 32nd birthday by making quick work of Russian Nadia Petrova, 6-3, 6-1.
Before blowing out one candle on a birthday cake, the Spaniard showed off the unique variety of ground strokes that has made her a force on tour since 1986.

"I'm hitting the ball really well, especially with my forehand. I'm hitting [my forehand] again and winning points with that, which is my strength. My backhand slice and topspin is also working. So, I feel like I'm hitting the ball like I used to hit it when I was in the Top 5," Martinez said.

No. 7 Petrova - who knocked off Serena in route to the Amelia Island semis last week and also reached the NASDAQ semis before falling to Dementieva – blamed mental and physical fatigue for her loss. She seemed to have no excuses for making 39 unforced errors compared to only 10 winners.

"What can I say. I played a lot of matches in the last three weeks. So, I felt physically tired and mentally tired. I ran out of gas. ... I couldn't find that energy inside of me," Petrova said.

Surprising Schnyder dominates davenport
Lindsay Davenport came into this tournament on a roll: She won Amelia Island last week and was a finalist in Indian Wells. With the loss of Henin-Hardenne and Serena, she seems like a lock to face Venus in the finals.

But Davenport came out flat and, from there, couldn't do much better, losing to Swiss Patty Schnyder, 6-3, 6-2. Schnyder's loopy lefty strokes caught Davenport off balance. And five aces – three in her last two service games – helped power Patty into the semis.

"I really felt like – you know, physically I really felt almost wiped out. I don't know if it's from the last two weeks. I just wasn't on top of my game. … Amelia took a lot out of me. I was very excited about it," Davenport said.

Schnyder also bring a revived game into the semis. She peaked at No. 9 in early 1999 and climbed back to No. 15 two years ago. With a semi-final appearance at the '04 Australian Open, she's back up to No. 17.

The questions in Saturday's other semifinal will be which clay-court specialist Conchita or Patty can slice and dice the best. In this time of WTA players going down with injuries, this might be a test for younger legs. Schnyder has five years on Martinez. That could be the margin.