FanHouse Svetlana Kuznetsova

DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- Serena Williams became the first player to clinch a spot in the semifinals of the WTA Sony Ericsson Championships on Thursday, defeating Elena Dementieva 6-2, 6-4 for her third straight win in the tournament's round-robin group phase.

Her sister Venus, the defending champion, stayed alive by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-4 for her first win in three matches. She needs Kuznetsova to beat Dementieva on Friday to have a chance of advancing to the semifinals.

Earlier, Caroline Wozniacki overcame severe leg cramps and a tenacious Vera Zvonareva to win 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4.

Serena and Venus Williams have plenty of experience playing against each other. But you wouldn't have been able to tell that by the way the two played when they faced off for the 22nd career time on Wednesday in the WTA Tour Championships in Doha.

It took Serena almost three hours and a full three sets (including a third set tiebreak) to top her older sister 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(4) in a somewhat sloppy match. They didn't play well at the same time until the last three games of the match, where the two finally seemed to put forth their best effort.

With Serena trailing 5-6 in the third, both players turned on the jets and provided the fans in Doha with a brief glimpse of what they were hoping to see throughout the match. Asked what changed for her late in the third, Serena said, "I just tried to relax. Whenever I relax, I play better." Seems simple enough.

BEIJING (AP) -- Novak Djokovic won the China Open with a 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory over Croatia's Marin Cilic, and Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia defeated Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-2, 6-4 in the women's final on Sunday.

The second-seeded Serb broke Cilic's serve in the sixth game and again in the eighth to take the first set following a 90-minute rain delay.

The second set was much tighter, with each breaking the other's serve three times to force the tiebreak. But Cilic then struggled, and his return at 6-4 went wide, handing Djokovic the win.

BEIJING (AP) -- Rafael Nadal lost in the semifinals of the China Open on Saturday, falling 6-1, 6-3 to Marin Cilic.

The eighth-seeded Croat cruised past the Spaniard, setting up a final against Serbia's Novak Djokovic, who beat Sweden's Robin Soderling 6-3, 6-3.

In the women's draw, Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Russian compatriot Nadia Petrova, 6-1, 6-3, to move into the final against 12th seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who downed France's Marion Bartoli, 6-4, 6-3.

Cilic broke Nadal's serve twice in the first set, racing to a 5-0 lead as the world's second-ranked player struggled against the 21-year-old's booming serve and aggressive returns. Cilic racked up six aces in the first set, with a first-serve percentage of 83.

BEIJING (AP) -- Maria Sharapova was eliminated from the China Open on Wednesday, losing to Peng Shuai of China 6-2, 6-4.

Svetlana Kuznetsova moved into the quarterfinals by defeating Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-3, 4-6, 6-0.

Peng broke Sharapova twice in the first set, and again in the sixth game of the second. Sharapova saved two match points at 5-4 before losing to the 53rd-ranked player.

The former top-ranked Russian appeared to show the strain of her three-set win over Victoria Azarenka the night before.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- Amelie Mauresmo rallied to win a 20-point first-set tiebreaker and a 7-6 (9), 2-6, 6-3 quarterfinal over top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova at the Pilot Pen tennis tournament on Thursday night.

Mauresmo started off slowly, losing the first three games of the match. But she broke Kuznetsova in the seventh game of the set to force the tiebreaker and then survived five set points.

"I gave her chances to come back," Kuznetsova said. "She didn't have many possibilities to play. I let her come back into the match. She started to play very well."

Maybe they ought to just stop messing around and have the women's tennis players at Wimbledon compete in bikinis. When did women's tennis become beach volleyball, anyway?

I missed it. But the evidence keeps pouring in. And in the past few days, we've seen Svetlana Kuznetsova (right), the French Open champ, complain that she wasn't placed on Centre Court while some young unknown women were. Even more strange, she thought, was No. 1 Dinara Safina playing on an outer court.

"Of course it's not fair," Safina said. "But, I mean, I'm not doing the schedule."

Turns out, Wimbledon officials say success alone doesn't earn women a spot on Centre Court, a court of honor. Wimbledon wants the best-looking women out there.

EASTBOURNE, England (AP)-French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova lost in the first round of the grass-court tournament at Eastbourne on Tuesday, falling 6-0, 6-3 to Aleksandra Wozniack of Canada.

"It's really tough for me," the second-seeded Kuznetsova said. "I played for two months on clay and I have it almost in my blood.

"On this surface, everything is opposite. For me, it's too much to change in three days."

Why am I such a chicken?

That's what Dinara Safina said. This was her crowning moment. And, oh man, did women's tennis need this. It needs a star desperately. And Safina needed a big win desperately, as she is No. 1 without a major title. That's No. 1 with an asterisk.

But here she was in the final of the French Open Saturday, and instead of a grand moment for Safina and for women's tennis, it just turned into something that turned your stomach.

In the end, Safina lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-2. And yes, I said that in the right order. The story of the match is that Safina lost, not that Kuznetsova won.

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PARIS (AP) -- Svetlana Kuznetsova conquered her nerves and beat a shaky Dinara Safina to win the French Open.

Showing uncharacteristic calm, Kuznetsova earned her second Grand Slam title Saturday by defeating Safina 6-4, 6-2 in an all-Russian matchup. Jitters have often betrayed Kuznetsova down the stretch in big matches, but she swept the final four games with steady play.