TOKYO (AP) — Venus Williams beat Eugenie Bouchard of Canada 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 on Thursday to advance to the semifinals of the Pan Pacific Open.
Williams, playing in the Tokyo tournament for the first time since 2009, broke Bouchard with a forehand down the line to go up 5-2 in the third set and held on to win the match that lasted 3 hours, 2 minutes at Ariake Colosseum.
Williams will face either Svetlana Kuznetsova or Petra Kvitova in the semis.
Kvitova of the Czech Republic defeated Madison Keys of the United States, 6-2, 6-2 while Kuznetsova of Russia beat Sorana Cirstea Romania, 7-6 (3), 6-1.
