Venus to face Ivanovic in Zurich

Williams is going for her second Zurich title after victory in 1999

Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic will meet in the semi-finals of the Zurich Open after both players enjoyed comfortable victories on Friday.

Williams, the third seed, beat Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-3 6-3, before second seed Ivanovic defeated Czech Petra Kvitova 6-1 6-4.

Flavia Pennetta followed her upset of top seed Jelena Jankovic by beating Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik 7-5 6-2.

The Italian will face Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain in the last four.

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Medina Garrigues advanced when Victoria Azarenka of Belarus retired with a shoulder injury after they shared the first two sets 4-6 6-3.

Williams improved to a 5-0 career record against Schiavone but half of the 18 games were breaks of serve in a scrappy match.

"She is a good competitor," said the American, Zurich champion in 1999. "She went for a lot out there today, sometimes maybe a little too much.

"I think I played more consistent than in my first match."