Venus Williams reaches Stuttgart quarters

Oct 2, 2008 - 5:41 PM STUTTGART, Germany (Ticker) -- A future Hall of Famer will clash with a rising star at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

Sixth-seeded Venus Williams advanced to the quarterfinals of the $650,000 hardcourt event Thursday with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Ukrainian qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko to set up an intriguing showdown with No. 3 Dinara Safina of Russia.

Williams is a former world No. 1 with 37 career titles and seven Grand Slam championships, while Safina has enjoyed a breakout season with four titles.

This will be the first time that the 28-year-old American has faced Safina, who advanced Thursday with a 6-1, 7-6 (8-6) triumph over Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova.

The younger sister of former world No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin, Safina is well on her way to matching her brother's accomplishments. She has advanced to the final in seven of her last nine events - going 41-5 over that span - and ascended to a career-best ranking of third as a result.

The 22-year-old has beaten the world's best during that stretch, as she became the only player in history to beat three different No. 1 players in the same season - Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic.

Williams has seen limited action this campaign, but saved her best effort for Wimbledon, where she beat sister Serena Williams in the final to claim the title for the second straight year and fifth time overall.

Venus already has fared better here than her younger sister, who won the U.S. Open last month. Serena was the top seed, but was upset by Li Na on Wednesday and will lose her No. 1 ranking to Jankovic on Monday as a result of the early exit.

The second-seeded Jankovic also moved through to the quarters Thursday with a 6-2, 6-0 thrashing of Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko - the sister of Kateryna. Awaiting the 23-year-old Serb, who also held the No. 1 ranking for a week in August, is seventh-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva, a 6-2, 6-0 winner against Marion Bartoli of France.

Also moving through was unseeded Russian Nadia Petrova, who booked a quarterfinal match with Li after topping Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, 6-4, 6-1.

First prize is $100,000.