CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) — Flavia Pennetta moved into the semifinals of the Mercury Insurance Open with a 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 2 seed Samantha Stosur on Friday.
Pennetta’s win over Stosur means all three of the top seeds have been eliminated.
Pennetta took control with her consistent and accurate ground strokes, along with a more effective serve. Pennetta had 19 winners compared to 12 for her Australian opponent.
Stosur, the French Open runner-up this year, did not record an ace and had five double faults. Stosur is considered to be the second-best server behind No. 1 ranked Serena Williams. Pennetta had eight aces and just one double fault.
Pennetta, the No. 5 seed from Italy, will face the winner between Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova and local teenager Coco Vandeweghe in the semifinals.
