Tennis: Kerber advances as Venus ousted in Charleston
Angelique Kerber beat Kristina Kucova in the WTA claycourt tournament in Charleston on Thursday.
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams will have to wait for a 50th career WTA title after bowing out in the third round of the claycourt tournament in Charleston on Thursday.
Williams, the third seed, had put together back-to-back wins for the first time since lifting her 49th title in Taiwan in February, but was toppled 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 6-4 by Kazakhstan s Yulia Putintseva.
The 35-year-old American joined second-seeded Swiss Belinda Bencic, fourth-seeded Lucie Safarova and sixth-seeded Andrea Petkovic out of the tournament.
But top-seeded Angelique Kerber, the reigning Australian Open champion, powered into the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over qualifier Kristina Kucova.
Kerber fired 35 winners and converted seven of her 10 break point chances, staying steady in difficult, windy conditions.
"It was a really tricky match," she said. "It was really windy and it was a completely different condition than before. I played two days ago in the night session and it was windy, cold."
"I m really happy to win the match," added Kerber, who said she was feeling at home on the green clay of Charleston, South Carolina.
Kerber next faces Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu, who saved a match point en route to a 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Puerto Rico s Monica Puig.
Russian Elena Vesnina, who ousted Bencic in the second round, reached the quarter-finals with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Spain s Lourdes Dominguez.
Vesnina next plays Germany s Laura Siegemund, who followed up her second-round win over eighth-seeded Madison Keys with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Croatia s Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
Fifth-seeded Italian Sara Errani advanced to a meeting with Putintseva, downing Australian Samantha Stosur 6-4, 7-6 (7/5).
Seventh-seeded Sloane Stephens of the United States defeated Aussie Daria Gavrilova 6-4, 6-3 to book a meeting with Russian Daria Kasatkina, a 6-0, 6-4 winner over American Louisa Chirico.
