Top seed reaches Palermo semis

PALERMO, Italy, July 17 (UPI) -- Top-seeded Flavia Pennetta and defending champion Sara Errani moved into the semifinals of the Palermo International Friday.

Pennetta recorded a 6-4, 6-4 decision over Aravane Rezai, setting up a semifinal meeting with Tathiana Garbin.

Garbin, who won this tournament three years ago, was an easy 6-2, 6-1 winner over Olga Govortsova.

The other semifinal will send Errani against Anna-Lena Groenefeld, who advanced when second-seeded Patty Schnyder retired in the first set. Schnyder was coming off a runner-up finish last week in Budapest.

Errani, who won last year's championship match over Mariya Koryttseva, defeated Yaroslava Shevdova 6-2, 7-5 to reach the semifinals.