Williams sisters to meet in Bangalore

BANGALORE, India, March 7 (UPI) -- Serena and Venus Williams each advanced Friday and are paired against each other in the semifinals of the $600,000 Bangalore Open tennis tournament.

Whichever sister wins Saturday's semifinal, she'll be the highest seeded player in the finals because top-seeded Jelena Jankovic was upset Friday in a grueling three-set match with Zi Yan. The fourth semifinalist will be fourth-seeded Patty Schnyder.

Both Williams sisters were solid in straight-set quarterfinal victories. Second-seeded Venus Williams stopped No. 7 Vera Zvonareva, 6-4, 6-3, and the third-seeded Serena Williams defeated Anastassia Rodionova, 6-1, 6-4.

The sisters have split their 14 WTA meetings, with Serena taking the last three, including the most recent pairing -- a fourth-round match in the 2005 U.S. Open.

Schnyder topped Akgul Amanmuradova, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), to make the semis against Yan, who was 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 winner over Jankovic. Schnyder and Yan have never met with WTA play.

Saturday's winners move into the title match Sunday with the Bangalore Open champion taking home $95,500.