Zvonareva edges Serena Williams at Aegon

EASTBOURNE, England, June 15 (UPI) -- Vera Zvonareva battled Serena Williams for more than 3 hours Wednesday before claiming a three-set win at the Aegon International tennis tournament in England.

Zvonareva, the world No. 3-ranked player, defeated Williams 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5. It was Williams' second match since she ended nearly a yearlong layoff due to a series of injuries.

Williams defeated Zvonareva in straight sets to win the 2010 Wimbledon singles title and was 6-1 lifetime against her.

Zvonareva won one more point -- 125-124 -- than Williams and lost her serve six times, including three times in the third set. But she also forced Williams into 21 break-point situations, finishing off six. Zvonareva was 4-of-14 in break-point chances in the third set before a break in the 11th game allowed her to end the match in 3 hours, 12 minutes.

Venus Williams, also one match into a return from a long layoff, beat Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-2 in a brisk 62 minutes. She lost only nine points over nine service games.

Daniela Hantuchova ousted second-seeded Li Na 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 and Agnieszka Radwanska eliminated No. 4-seded Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 6-2 in the day's upsets.

Third-seeded Victoria Azarenka defeated Elena Baltacha 6-1, 7-6 (7-0) while No. 5-seeed Petra Kvitova nipped Ekaterina Makarova 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (7-4). Marion Bartoli, the No. 6 seed, advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and seventh-seeded Samantha Stosur was a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Bojana Jovanovski.

Zvonareva draws Stosur in the quarterfinals with the winner moving to the semifinals against the survivor of a match between Azarenka and Bartoli. Kvitova plays Radwanska and Venus Williams meets Hantuchova in the other quarters.