Venus Williams wins at Family Circle

CHARLESTON: Venus Williams outlasted fellow American Ververa Lapchenko in three sets yesterday to start a long day of tennis for the Williams’ family at the rain-delayed Family Circle Cup.
Venus was up a set and held a 3-0 lead in the second set before Lapchenko won six of the next seven games to force a third set. Lapchenko led 1-0 before Williams found her game and closed out the set, 6-2. Williams will face 18-year-old Madison Keys for a spot in the semifinals today.
Top-ranked Serena Williams also must play twice after a 7 1-2 hour rain delay wiped out much of Thursday’s schedule. Serena will play Mallory Burdette. If she wins, she’ll play either sixth-seeded Lucie Safarova or Sorana Cirstea.
Three matches finally got on Charleston’s green clay courts on Thursday night, with 2007 Charleston champ Jelena Jankovic of Serbia booking her quarterfinal berth with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over US qualifier Jessica Pegula.
Pegula, whose first- and second-round victories here were the first WTA match wins of her career, seized a 3-1 lead in the second set before former world No. 1 Jankovic roared back.
Unseeded Swiss Stefanie Voegele ousted 10th-seeded German Julia Goerges 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 to set up a quarterfinal clash with Wozniacki.
Canadian Eugenie Bouchard also advanced, when third-seeded Australian Sam Stosur retired while trailing in the second set of their match with the same calf injury that prompted her to withdraw from Indian Wells in March and skip the Miami hardcourt tournament.
Bouchard was leading 6-1, 2-0 when former US Open champion Stosur called it a night. The young Canadian will face Jankovic in the quarterfinals.
Serena Williams will try to continue her march toward a third Charleston title against Burdette, who ousted 2009 champion Sabine Lisicki of Germany in the second round.