Zvonareva advanced to Prague semifinals

PRAGUE, Czech Republic, May 2 (UPI) -- Top-seeded Vera Zvonareva won but No. 2-seeded Shahar Peer was upset in quarterfinal play Friday at the $145,000 Prague Open.

Zvonareva routed Roberta Vinci 6-1, 6-2 to make the semifinals of the clay court tune-up ahead of the French Open. She will meet fourth-seeded Katarina Srebotnik in Saturday's semifinals. Srebotnik was pushed to a third set in a 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 victory over local favorite Iveta Benesova.

Zvonareva owns a 3-0 career record against Srebotnik but they haven't played since 2006.

Peer dropped a straight-set 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 decision to Klara Zakopalova, another Czech native receiving strong local support. The fourth quarterfinal saw third-seeded Victoria Azarenka having little trouble in a 6-2, 6-1 win over Karolina Pliskova.

Zakopalova and Azarenka, paired in the second semifinal, are meeting for the first time in WTA play.

Saturday's semifinals winners advance to a title match Sunday with $22,900 going to the 2008 Prague Open champion.