Serena Williams barreled past fellow American Amy "Joltin' Joe" Frazier 6-2, 6-2 late Friday night after numerous rain delays, finishing after 11 p.m. to confirm a place in the semifinals at the WTA stop in Cincinnati.
On Saturday the unseeded Serena will face another unseeded player in former Top 10-ranked Russian
Vera Zvonareva, who thumped No. 5 seed
Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 6-1.
"I expected a really tough match -- a lot of long rallies," Zvonareva said. "Maybe she wasn't at her best. It was important for me to stay in the match from the first point to the last. I think I'm just lucky that it went so smoothly all through the match. To win like this just feels great."
The other Saturday semifinal will feature top-seeded
Patty Schnyder, who beat No. 9
Sania Mirza 7-6(7), 7-5, against No. 4-seeded Slovak Katarina Sreotnik, who eased past No. 6
Marion Bartoli 6-2, 6-1.
