Zvonareva books semi-final berth

Fourth-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva reached the semi-finals of the Indian Wells hardcourt tennis tournament on Wednesday with a straight-sets victory over Caroline Wozniacki.

Zvonareva downed the ninth-seeded Dane 6-4, 6-2, and awaits the winner the night match between top-seeded Russian Dinara Safina and eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

Safina beat Zvonareva in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, before falling to Serena Williams in the final.

That run to the final four in Melbourne saw Zvonareva break into the top five in the world rankings for the first time.

Currently at No.6 in the standings, Zvonareva has one title to her credit already this year, at Pattaya City.

A break in the third game was all Zvonareva needed to win the first set. She broke her 18-year-old opponent three times in the second to secure the victory.

Zvonareva won the last five games of the second set, but had to fight off break points in both the fourth and sixth games.

"It wasn't easy out there," she said. "I had my ups and downs... I'm pretty happy to get through this one."

Safina, 22, can topple the absent Williams from the world number one spot by reaching the final of the event.

In the 19-year-old Azarenka she'll face a player brimming with confidence after capturing her first two career WTA titles this year - in Brisbane and Memphis.

Quarter-finals in the bottom half of the draw are scheduled for Thursday, when defending champion Ana Ivanovic takes on Sybille Bammer of Austria and seventh-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska plays 17-year-old Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.









Norton Bay, March 16, in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. AP/Al Grillo