Black Tennis Pros

EASTBOURNE, England - Venus Williams' WTA comeback came to an end on a windy Thursday afternoon in Eastbourne, as she was outrallied by Daniela Hantuchova in the quarterfinals of the AEGON International, 62 57 62.

Williams, who had missed four and a half months of action due to hip and abdominal injuries, came back strong, beating No.11-ranked Andrea Petkovic in her first match back and No.18-ranked Ana Ivanovic in her second. But the No.25-ranked Hantuchova was in too much of a groove, winning 12 of her last 15 matches. Just a day before, she upset French Open champion Li Na, too.

"Obviously this is a great win and it's nice to be able to continue my good form from Paris and Birmingham," Hantuchova commented after the match.

More impressive: Hantuchova beat Williams for the first time in 11 tries.

"I was not thinking about our other matches at all. I was just focusing on my game today," she added. "I had a good win yesterday and I wanted to build on that. But I still feel there is a lot of room to improve. I'm not where I want to be yet, but I feel like I'm on the right way, which is pretty exciting for me."

"The wind didn't make it very predictable, but I give her credit for hanging in there. On a day like today, you have to just hang in there," Williams said. "I think Daniela had a lot of motivation - we've been playing I don't know how many years, and I am sure she has wanted a win against me for a long, long time."

Williams showed some flashes of the fighting spirit that has taken her to seven Grand Slam titles and the No.1 ranking, one minute facing a point for a 62 52 deficit and the next minute tucking the second set away. But the final chapter of the match was all Hantuchova - from 2-all in the third, she won 16 of 21 points.



"It wasn't the best luck today, but I feel good about my preparation," Williams said. "More than anything I was able to get a lot of great competition. This has been ideal. I would have liked to win here, but there are positives here too."

Hantuchova commented on the return of both Williams sisters to the WTA: "It's nice to see them back. I think they're great for the game. I was really looking forward to the match today and really pleased I was able to make it through."

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(AGI) Rome- Andreas Seppi has qualified for the AEGON International quarter finals. The ATP tournament is worth 462,075 euros in prize money and is being played on Eastbourne's grass courts.

In the second round, the Italian player won 7-6(1) 6-3, in an hour and twelve minutes of play, defeating U.S. player Donald Young, who had come through from the qualifying round.

The next opponent will be the winner of the match between Belgium's Olivier Rochus and Argentina's Carlos Berlocq.

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