Venus fails on match point, Chakvetadze into semis

TENNIS: CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) - Venus Williams failed to capitalize on a match point and lost her quarterfinal of the Acura Classic to Anna Chakvetadze as the No. 3 seed earned a 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory Friday.

Chakvetadze squandered the first set after leading 5-2. The Russian double-faulted eight times in the match, three times giving games to Williams in the set. Included in that span was a set point that number 10 seed Williams saved before going on to win the set in a tiebreak. Chakvetadze trailed 5-3 in the second set before bouncing back. Williams held a match point at 5-4 before Chakvetadze broke serve.

Both players held serve to force the tiebreak, won by Chakvetadze as she took advantage of several errors by the American. The 20-year-old Russian handled Williams easily in the final set to beat the Wimbledon champion.

"It was the biggest win in my career, but I am already thinking about tomorrow," Chakvetadze said. "I was fighting until the end. I think that was why I won." Chakvetadze will face top-seed Maria Sharapova in the semifinals after her compatriot defeated India's Sania Mirza 6-2, 6-1.

"I'd rather take these matches than be playing 7-6 in the third set out in the heat," said Sharapova, who has not won a title since October. "From the beginning of the match, I played my game," said the world number two. "I did a really good job of serving well and stepping it up when I had to." Patty Schnyder of Switzerland claimed another upset with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 4 seed Nadia Petrova to advance to the other semifinal.

"She's a dangerous opponent with her big serve and her powerful groundstroke," the 11th-seeded Schnyder said. "For me, it was still a great win. I never expected to win it that easily." No. 9 seed Elena Dementieva defeated fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko 6-2, 6-4 for a semifinal berth against Schnyder.

Dementieva, a two-time Grand Slam finalist, lost to Schnyder in straight sets here last year in the semifinals. "I've never played against Maria before so I got a little bit nervous in the beginning," Dementieva said.

"It was a quite difficult match even though the score was easy." Schnyder was confident of making her first appearance in a final in more than a year. "I'm feeling great out on the court," she said. "The last three days I know where my shots are going. Everything seems to be working. I just want to keep it up for the weekend."