V. Williams out at Moscow's Kremlin Cup

MOSCOW, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Sixth-seeded Venus Williams was upset in a tight three-set match Tuesday in the first round of the $1.34 million Kremlin Cup tennis tournament in Moscow.

Williams lost in her first appearance in a tournament for only the second time this year when she fell 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 to Flavia Pennetta on the second day of the indoor tournament. Pennetta won only five more points than Williams over the course of the 2-hour match but managed to hold her serve in the third set while breaking Williams' serve once to advance.

Also Tuesday, fifth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Na Li 6-4, 7-5 and seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva stopped Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 6-4.

In other first-round matches, Daniela Hantuchova beat Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 6-2; Katarina Srebotnik stopped Alona Bondarenko 6-2, 6-1; Sara Errani bested Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-4, 6-3; and Ekaterina Makarova held off Elena Vesnina 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-1).

Second-round matches set for Wednesday include third-seeded and defending Kremlin Cup champion Elena Dementieva playing Srebotnik. Jelena Jankovic, who just regained the world No. 1 ranking after recording her second consecutive tournament championship Sunday, is the top seed in Moscow.