Updated at 8:11 a.m., Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Venus Williams, Sharapova advance in Istanbul Cup
Associated Press
ISTANBUL, Turkey — Venus Williams and top-seeded Maria Sharapova tuned up for the French Open with victories today at the Istanbul Cup.Williams routed Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus 6-1, 6-2 in a first-round match. Sharapova beat Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 6-4, 7-6 in the second round, advancing to the quarterfinals.
The fourth-seeded Williams, the 2005 Istanbul champion, will meet Aravane Rezai of France in the second round of this $200,000 clay-court warmup for the French Open, which starts Sunday.
"I haven't played at any Grand Slams this year, but that will be a great place to start," said Williams, who missed this year's Australia Open because of injury.
Patty Schnyder beat Chan Yung-jan of Taiwan 6-1, 6-1 and will play Vania King of the United States in the second round. Catalina Castano of Colombia defeated sixth-seeded Anna-Lena Groenefeld 7-6, 6-2, while Meghann Shaughnessy of the United States beat eighth-seeded Sania Mirza of India, 6-4, 6-3.
