Venus Survives Schnyder Onslaught at Amelia Island

AMELIA ISLAND, FL, USA - Venus Williams struggled with unforced errors and a tricky opponent Wednesday night, but with her back against the wall, she showed why she is one of the greatest competitors out there. The former world No.1 fought back from a 3-1 third set hole to beat Patty Schnyder and reach the round of 16 at Amelia Island.

Williams, who was just barely left out of the seedings, had battled the No.4-seeded Swiss on eight previous occasions and won every time. This was the fourth time in a row the pair went to three sets, and the American overcame some early errors and an inspired Schnyder to prevail again, 36 63 64. Williams trailed 3-1 in the third but broke back immediately, reeling off four games to regain control of the encounter.

"Today I played my way back into the match and the tournament," Williams said. "In the first set I was impatient and went for winners too early in the points. Also, I was behind the baseline a bit too much, and my game isn't to be behind the baseline. Just one of those days where I felt I was a little bit off. But I started hitting behind her more and not to the open court as much, which really helped me in the third set. I know I won't hit too many winners on this surface but I can still hit a lot of forceful shots that I can follow up with winners."

Williams will continue her quest to regain the Bausch & Lomb Championships title in the third round on Thursday, taking on fellow unseeded American Meilen Tu. Tu was a 63 61 winner over No.17 seed Martina Müller. Williams is 4-0 against Tu.

"I feel like I've got no pressure," added Williams on Tu. "She's obviously a really solid player and does everything well; hopefully I can do all those things better."

Another one of the large threats to the Amelia Island title, Jelena Jankovic, had a much easier time in her second round match, crushing qualifier Iveta Benesova in straight sets, 61 62. The Serb, the No.2 seed this week, has won her most recent encounters with both Williams and this week's top seed, Nadia Petrova.

"I started well in the first set; the second set was tougher but I finished the match and I'm happy to make it through," Jankovic said. "I'm comfortable on clay, but I need some time to get used to it. This was my first match on clay. I prefer hard. I hope to get as many matches as possible and get better and better."

Next up for Jankovic is No.16 seed Alona Bondarenko, a 57 63 62 winner over Russian qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova.

Williams, Tu, Jankovic and Bondarenko were four of 10 players who reached the round of 16 on Wednesday. Others who moved through were No.6 seed Ana Ivanovic, No.8 seed Tatiana Golovin, No.12 seed Samantha Stosur, No.13 seed Sybille Bammer and unseeded players Nathalie Dechy and Karolina Sprem.

Sprem, a former Top 20 player who has struggled with injuries over the last year or two and a qualifier into the draw, pulled off a 63 63 upset over No.7-seeded Li Na, a semifinalist at Indian Wells and a quarterfinalist at Miami.

"I'm happy with how I was playing today," Sprem said. "I'm happy I played in the qualies because now I have four matches behind me. I like playing on clay and I don't have anything to lose so I'm going on court and playing my game."

It has been a while since Sprem has defeated a Top 20 player; her last win over one of that elite came at Roland Garros last May. She also hadn't won a main draw match on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour this year coming into this week. But the former world No.17 says things are looking up.

"I've had a rough two years, very up and down; but I'm just happy to feel normal on the court again. A lot of wrong things happened with injuries and getting sick, and when it's not going well it's very hard to deal with. But I'm pushing hard." (WTA)