Venus Williams, Lucie Safarova reach Madrid Masters semifinals

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Venus Williams, Safarova reach Madrid semis

MADRID — Venus Williams defeated Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-3 Friday to reach the semifinals of the Madrid Masters.

In a strong performance, Williams broke the eighth-seeded Stosur’s serve four times.

Williams, who will improve to No. 2 in the rankings behind her sister Serena next week, has won all four meetings with the Australian.

She plays either Shahar Peer or Li Na in the semifinals.

Despite the defeat, Stosur’s recent performances are projected to send her to No. 7 in next week’s rankings, the highest held by an Australian since Wendy Turnbull in 1985.

Earlier, Lucie Safarova advanced to the semifinals with a 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 victory over 16th-seeded Nadia Petrova.

Safarova has had a fine clay-court season, reaching the quarterfinals in Stuttgart and Rome. She will next face either seventh-seeded Jelena Jankovic or Aravane Rezai.

In the men’s tournament, Nicolas Almagro reached his first ATP Masters semifinal by defeating Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-1.

He will play in the semifinals against the winner of the match between Gael Monfils and Rafael Nadal.