Venus Williams earns Doha semifinal spot

DOHA, Qatar, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Defending champion Venus Williams entered the semifinals Friday when Elena Dementieva lost at the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships at Doha, Qatar.

Dementieva, the fifth-seed and reigning Summer Olympics gold medalist, lost 6-3, 6-2 to fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, the third seed, 6-3, 6-2 and was eliminated from the round-robin event.

Dementieva's loss guaranteed a spot in the semis for the seventh-seeded Williams with younger sister Serena, the No. 2 seed.

Also Friday, eighth-seeded Jelena Jankovic trounced fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-2, and Agnieszka Radwanska downed sixth-seeded Victoria Azarenka 4-6, 7-5, 4-1.

Azarenka retired in the third set with a left hamstring injury.

"I feel so sorry for Victoria because I know how she's feeling," Wozniacki said. "It's never fun to pull out with an injury, especially in such a big tournament."

Saturday's semis are Serena-Wozniacki and Jankovic-Venus.

The eventual champion earns $1.55 million.