Jankovic routs V. Williams in Rome

ROME, May 6 (UPI) -- Jelena Jankovic allowed Venus Williams just one game Thursday in a quarterfinal victory at the $2 million Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome.

Jankovic, the tournament No. 7 seed, stunned the fourth-seeded Williams 6-0, 6-1 in 59 minutes. Jankovic piled up six breaks of Williams's serve and won 66 percent of the points in the match.

Her semifinal opponent will be world No. 1 Serena Williams, who is in her first tournament since winning the Australian Open. Serena Williams had been resting a sore knee but moved well in a 6-1, 6-4 win Thursday over Maria Kirilenko. Serena Williams had seven aces and dropped serve just once.

The other semifinal pits unseeded players against each other with Ana Ivanovic taking on Maria Martinez Sanchez. Martinez Sanchez topped Lucie Safarova 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 in her quarterfinal and Ivanovic posted her third consecutive straight-set win over a seeded opponent in a 6-2, 7-5 victory over No. 14-seeded Nadia Petrova.

Friday's winners will play Saturday for the tournament title and $350,000, with the runner-up taking home $175,000. Each semifinalist is guaranteed of earning $87,500.