Venus Williams upset top-seeded Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday to advance to the third round of the Pan Pacific Open.

Williams, making her first appearance in the Tokyo tournament since 2009, took advantage of six-double faults by Azarenka, who struggled with her game from the outset at Ariake Colosseum.

Azarenka said after Tuesday’s match that she wasn’t well and hadn’t been able to practice for three days because of her condition.

“She didn’t seem like herself at all,” Williams said. “Hitting the double-faults, I could tell she wasn’t feeling her best. I am not sure what was bothering her but I hope she feels better.”

Azarenka, who lost to Serena Williams in the final of the U.S. Open, broke Williams to make it 4-4 in the second set after trailing 4-2. But Williams came right back in the next game to go up 5-4 ad then served out to win the match in 1 hour, 21 minutes.

“I didn’t sleep at all last night,” Azarenka said. “You can’t play at 20 percent against one of the top players. I’ve been feeling bad for a couple of days and it just got worse today.”

In 2011, Williams withdrew before her second-round match at the U.S. Open because of Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease and came into the Tokyo tournament 63rd in the world rankings.

“I’ve had some issues to say the least,” Williams said. “But I like to think that builds character and I’ve got a whole lot of character. I’m getting better every tournament, my serve is better, my back is better, a lot of things are getting better.”

Williams next faces No. 13-seeded Simona Halep of Romania, who defeated Germany’s Andrea Petkovic 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.

In other second-round matches, second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland defeated Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak 7-6 (7-5), 6-0. Fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark overpowered Flavia Pennetta 6-2, 6-3.

Svetlana Kuznetsova also advanced by beating third-seeded Sara Errani of Italy 6-4, 6-4.

Kuznetsova, a two-time major winner, hit seven aces in the match. The Russian and will next face 15th-seeded Sorana Cirstea of Romania. Cirstea beat Japanese wild-card entry Misaki Doi 6-1, 6-2.

Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard defeated ninth-seeded Sloane Stephens of the United States 5-7, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3.

Other winners include Samantha Stosur, Ana Ivanovic, Dominika Cibulkova and Madison Keys.

Ailing Morita loses

Kyodo

Ayumi Morita could not replicate her first-round heroics against the power of sixth-seeded Serb Jelena Jankovic on Tuesday at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

Morita, who won the day before in her first game since she pulled out of the U.S. Open due to lower-back trouble, could do little more than put up a brave fight as Jankovic cruised into the third round at Ariake Tennis Forrest Park with a 6-4, 6-1 victory in a game delayed by rain and a medical timeout.

Morita struggled to keep up with the Serb’s serve, although she battled back after falling behind 3-0 in the first set to the world No. 10. Morita held serve in a marathon 14-point fourth game and broke Jankovic’s serve in a game that was twice disrupted by rain. The Japan ace held her serve to pull even at 4-4.

“Given the circumstances, I was satisfied with my tennis,” the 23-year-old Morita said. “I was less worried about moving today, but I still had to pass up some attacking opportunities.”

“After yesterday’s match I was feeling some effects, not in my back, but in my abdominals and some other areas. That’s probably just a result of not having played matches on consecutive days in a long time.”

Djokovic hits milestone

LONDON
AP

Novak Djokovic is marking his 100th week at No. 1 in the ATP rankings.

The 26-year-old Serb is the ninth player to reach the milestone, joining Andre Agassi (101 weeks), Rafael Nadal (102), Bjorn Borg (109), John McEnroe (170), Jimmy Connors (268), Ivan Lendl (270), Pete Sampras (286) and Roger Federer (302).

Djokovic reached No. 1 in July 2011. He lost the top spot to Federer for three months in 2012 but regained it in November of that year.

Djokovic’s bid to finish the year at No. 1 for a third straight time is under serious threat from Nadal. Djokovic has 11,120 points, while Nadal has 10,860.

Both are entered in next week’s China Open, where Djokovic will be defending his title and Nadal has no points to defend. Nadal can get to No. 1 for the first time since July 3, 2011, by reaching the final.

Almagro stays confident

KUALA LUMPUR AFP-
JIJI

Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, who has endured a wretched season, vowed Monday to right that wrong at the Malaysian Open.

The 28-year-old, who is seeded third in Malaysia, will play Adrian Mannarino in the second round after receiving a first-round bye.

The world No. 17, who was born in Murcia, Spain, has not won any titles this year, and last month lost 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in the first round of the U.S. Open to Dennis Istomin.

“I didn’t play really well in the last few tournaments, but I’m feeling much better than a month ago,” said Almagro.

“I’m playing here because I want to change my luck.”

Almagro reached Mayaysian Open quarterfinals in 2011.

“I honestly believe I have a great chance of winning this tournament,” he said.

Almagro’s compatriot and world No. 4 David Ferrer is the top seed, while Swiss world No. 10 Stanislas Wawrinka is seeded second.

“I’m improving and feeling much more comfortable,” Almagro said.

Meanwhile, Mannarino, who opened his campaign with a straight forward 6-3, 6-4 victory over Germany’s Daniel Brands, said he wanted to enjoy his first win before thinking of his second-round match.

“I played very well today, most of my shots were on target,” said Mannarino, who hit seven aces and converted six break points. “My returns were also quite good and that proved decisive.”

Asked about the matchup against the third seed, Mannarino said: “Almagro is a very powerful player. I’m expecting a tough match against him.

“We only met once before and I lost. For me to beat him I would have to be at the top of my game.”