The first year of Cincinnati’s new Premier 5 WTA event gets underway today.

Seeds: Andy Roddick, Juan Martin Del Potro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Fernando Gonzalez, Robin Soderling, Marin Cilic, Tommy Robredo, Tomas Berdych, Mardy Fish, Tommy Haas, Ivo Karlovic, Viktor Troicki, Igor Andreev, Dmitry Tursunov, Dudi Sela, Sam Querrey

Venus has won five of the last eight against Serena…

Venus steamrolled the No. 1-ranked Safina 6-1, 6-0, with the Russian exhibiting the throat-clutching tennis she usually saves for Grand Slam finals, where she is 0-3 career. It was the first appearance in a Wimbledon semifinal for Safina.

Tommy Haas and Novak Djokovic have Grand Slam wins over Roger Federer. And Lleyton Hewitt has a grass win plus a best-of-five set win over the Swiss…

The Williams sisters are attempting to put at least one sister in the final for an amazing nine of the last 10 years.

The Williams sisters remain on track for a second straight all-Williams final after younger sister Serena also advanced, brutalizing Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-1. Venus has now won 31 consecutive sets at Wimbledon, the longest streak since Martina Navratilova’s 40 in a row in 1982-85.

“[I] was just thinking that she was any other player, and this was any other match, and I was at any other tournament — you know, not, like, on the biggest stage, at Wimbledon, playing my first Top 10 player,” Oudin said. “I mean, I go into every match the exact same, you know, like, no matter who I play. It’s not, like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’m playing the No. 1 player in the world.’”

Among other Top 10-seeded results, (4) Elena Dementieva was an easy 6-1, 6-2 winner over unheralded fellow Russian Regina Kulkova, (7) Vera Zvonareva handed an injury walkover to (26) Virginie Razzano, (8) Victoria Azarenka defeating (28) Sorana Cirstea 7-6, 6-3, and (10) Nadia Petrova stopped the run of the Sharapova-killer, Gisela Dulko, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

Mauresmo will next meet Pennetta, Ivanovic against Stosur, Jankovic against Oudin, and the elder Williams will face Spanish comer Carla Suarez Navarro.