ZURICH, Switzerland — Venus Williams remained on course for a second Zurich Open title when she beat Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals on Friday.

The third-seeded Williams, the 1999 champion, next faces second-seeded Ana Ivanovic or Czech teenager Petra Kvitova, who played in a late match.

Flavia Pennetta of Italy and Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain also advanced to meet in the semifinals on Saturday.

Williams improved to 5-0 against Schiavone, a semifinalist last year. Half of the 18 games were breaks of serve.

"She is a good competitor," Williams said. "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."

After trading five straight breaks, Williams served at 5-3 and held to love to win the first set.

When she faced three break points up 4-3 in the second set, Williams reeled off two service winners, a forehand volley at the net and two aces to win the game and close out the match soon after.

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

A two-time winner on tour this year, the Italian broke Srebotnik at 5-5 with a backhand service return, then converted her first set point with an ace.

She then broke Srebotnik to open the second set, again in the seventh game, and sealed the victory with a backhand winner.

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