Venus moves into last four

Venus Williams booked her place in the semi-finals of Madrid Open with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Samantha Stosur.

Williams overcomes hard-hitting Aussie in Madrid

Venus Williams booked her place in the semi-finals of Madrid Open with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Samantha Stosur. The Australian has never taken a set off the fourth seed and failed once again despite a change of tactics that saw the world number eight trade heavy baseline shots. Stosur lived with the American for much of the clash but her spirit was broken when Williams moved 4-3 ahead with a break of serve in the second set. The four-time Wimbledon champion then eased to victory, taking the last two games relinquishing just one point in the process. "I didn't think this was like a clay-court match, there were no rallies. It was just serve and hit hard. It was interesting," Williams said. "She's never beaten me before. She tried something new against me, but when people do that it just makes me stronger."