Summary Bouchard upset sixth-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 7-5, 6-2.
TOKYO (AP) - Venus Williams rallied from a set down on Wednesday to defeat Simona Halep of Romania 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 and reach the quarterfinals of the Pan Pacific Open.
Williams, making her first appearance in the Tokyo tournament since 2009, broke serve to go up 5-3 in the second set at Ariake Colosseum and then won with a crosscourt forehand that Halep hit into the net.
"It was a very tough match," Williams said. "She played very well. I don t know how I was able to win the match. I just wanted to stay in Japan longer."
Williams, who ousted top-seeded Victoria Azarenka on Tuesday, will face Canada s Eugenie Bouchard in the quarterfinals.
Bouchard upset sixth-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 7-5, 6-2.
Making her debut in the Tokyo tournament, Bouchard broke Jankovic to go up 5-2 in the second set and then held serve to win.
Jankovic had a 5-4 lead in the first set but Bouchard won the last three games after a talk with her coach.
"I felt like I wasn t playing my best in the first set," Bouchard said. "But I stayed with her and started to get a lot more aggressive near the end of the first set and that was the turning point."
Bouchard, who is 46th in the world rankings, said winning last year s junior Wimbledon title has given her confidence to compete at a higher level.
"That gave me a lot of confidence to play in the pros," Bouchard said. "Playing week in, week out against the top players has made me a better player."
In another third-round match, fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, defeated Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia, 6-1, 6-1.
