Williams hurdles past Sanchez to reach semis

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Sydney: Venus Williams survived a stiff challenge from Arantxa Sanchez Vicario on Sunday to extend her streak to 30 successive victories with a thrilling 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 triumph in the quarter-finals of the Olympic tournament.

The pugnacious Spaniard had been the last player to beat the 20-year-old American before her impressive run.

The winning streak, which Williams began after a quarter-final loss to Sanchez Vicario in the French Open, has carried her to the Wimbledon and US Open titles and within two more wins of an Olympic gold.

Williams, the second seed, will now play fellow-American Monica Seles in the semi-finals. The third seeded Seles was a 6-0, 6-2 winner against Dominique Van Roost of Belgium in her quarter-final.

The other semi-final will pit unseeded Australian Jelena Dokic against 10th-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva in a battle of teenagers.

Dokic, 17, defeated seventh-seeded South African Amanda Coetzer 6-1, 1-6, 6-1, while the 18-year-old Dementieva overcame 12th seeded Barbara Schett of Austria 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.



(c) Reuters Limited.