Serena in semifinals

ROME: World No.1 Serena Williams had few problems in dismissing Russia's Maria Kirilenko 6-1, 6-4 on Thursday to reach the semifinals of the Rome Open. She could face sister Venus, who plays seventh seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia.

Important results:

At Rome (Italian International): Quarterfinals: Serena Williams bt Maria Kirilenko 6-1, 6-4; María José Martínez Sánchez bt Lucie Safarova 7-6(6), 6-4 . Third round: Jelena Jankovic bt Yanina Wickmayer 6-2, 6-0; Ana Ivanovic bt Elena Dementieva 6-1, 7-6(5) .

At Estoril (Estoril Open): Men: Second round: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez bt Leonardo Tavares 6-2, 6-2; Alberto Martin bt David Marrero 6-1, 6-2; Roger Federer bt Bjorn Phau 6-3, 6-4. Women: Quarterfinals: Sorana Cirstea bt Arantxa Rus 6-4, 6-1; Peng Shuai bt Anabel Medina Garrigues 4-6, 6-4, 6-3; Anastasija Sevastova bt Anastasia Rodionova 7-6(6), 6-2; Arantxa Parra Santonja bt Jarmila Groth 6-7(6), 7-5, 7-5.

At Munich (BMW Open): Second round: Philipp Kohlschreiber bt Santiago Ventura 6-2, 6-1; Marcos Baghdatis bt Marco Chiudenelli 6-3, 6-4. Mikhail Youzhny bt Andreas Beck 6-3, 6-3; Tomas Berdych bt Pablo Riba 7-5, 6-1.

At Belgrade (Serbian Open): Second round: John Isner bt Josselin Ouanna 6-2, 6-4; Richard Gasquet bt Andreas Seppi 4-6, 6-2, 7-5; Stanislas Wawrinka bt Alessandro de Mauro 6-1, 6-4 . — Agencies