Venus Williams upset at Kremlin Cup

Oct 8, 2008 - 12:17 AM MOSCOW (Ticker) -- Flavia Pennetta continued to be a thorn in the side of Venus Williams.

Pennetta upset the sixth-seeded American, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, on Tuesday in the opening round of the Kremlin Cup.

The Italian improved to 3-1 against Williams and has won three straight encounters with the former No. 1 and seven-time Grand Slam champion.

"Today's match was very tough," Pennetta said. "Venus is always a tough opponent but my serve was working very well and I was playing my best tennis. At this moment, I just want to enjoy the win from today."

The 18th-ranked Pennetta will try to move a step closer to her third title of the season when she faces Russian wild card Ekaterina Makarova, who ousted Elena Vesnina, in the second round.

This marked only the second time in 12 events this season that Williams was eliminated in the first round.

The 37-time champion made a statement at Wimbledon this summer, winning the event for the second straight season and fifth time overall. However, that is Williams' only title in 2008.

The last time the 28-year-old did not win multiple titles in a season was in 1997, when she was just beginning to emerge as a superstar.

The ouster of Williams was good news for newly-crowned world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, who is the top seed here and gunning for her third title in as many events.

The Serb faced a potential showdown with Williams in the quarterfinals, but now she won't have to face a seeded player until the semifinals at the soonest.

The bottom of the draw held true as No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia advanced to the second round along with seventh-seeded countrywoman Vera Zvonareva.

Kuznetsova, who next will face Italy's Sara Errani, got past China's Li Na, 6-4, 7-5. Errani rallied for a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

Zvonareva topped Maria Kirilenko, 6-4, 6-4, in an all-Russian clash to book a second-round meeting with Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova.

Also moving through was Slovenian qualifier Katarina Srebotnik, who will face defending champion and No. 3 seed Elena Dementieva next.

First prize is $196,900.