Williams, Seles advance in Moscow

Moscow, Russia (TSN) – Top seed Venus Williams and second-seeded Monica Seles both advanced to the semifinals with straight-set victories on Thursday at the $1 million Kremlin Cup.

Williams, who is seeking her fourth title of the year, crushed Elena Studenikova, 6-1, 6-0 in a quarterfinal match. Meanwhile, Seles smashed Silvia Farina 6-0, 6-1 in less than 50 minutes.

Fifth seed Mary Pierce dispatched Magui Serna is straight sets as well. Serna, who upset Swiss teen sensation Patty Schnyder to earn a quarterfinal berth, dropped a 7-5, 6-3 decision to Pierce. Third seed Conchita Martinez was knocked out by seventh-seeded Sandrine Testud in the most exciting match of the day, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5.

Williams will meet Pierce in Saturday’s semifinals, while Seles, who is seeking her third title of the year, will face off with Testud. Pierce has two wins on the season, while Testud has one.