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Vinci wins three-set quarterfinal

ESTORIL, Portugal, May 3 (UPI) -- Top-seeded Roberta Vinci needed a third set Thursday before advancing to the semifinals of the Estoril Open tennis tournament in Portugal.

Vinci got past seventh-seeded Nadia Petrova 6-2, 1-6, 6-4. She won one more point -- 79-78 -- overall in the match but she was able to win on the strength of three third-set breaks.

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She'll go against sixth-seeded Kaia Kanepi in the semifinals. Kanepi pulled a slight upset with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over fourth-seeded Petra Cetkovska. Kanepi finished off five of her six break-point chances, including 2-of-3 in the third set.

No seeded players cleared the second round of the other half of the draw, which will have qualifier Karin Knapp facing Carla Suarez Navarro in the semis.

Knapp battled Galina Voskoboeva for nearly 3 hours before getting a 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-4 win. Suarez Navarro had a relatively easy 6-3, 6-3 victory over Silvia Soler-Espinosa in her quarterfinal.

Vinci is 2-0 lifetime versus Kanepi, with both wins coming on clay. Suarez Navarro won the only time she played Knapp, but that was eight years ago.

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