Serena survives scare

Paris (AFP): World number one Serena Williams survived a huge scare to reach her first French Open semi-final since 2003 on Tuesday, defeating unseeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Williams, bidding to win just her second title in Paris, 11 years after her first, looked down and almost out at one stage against the 2009 champion. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic played through his grief, Rafael Nadal celebrated a birthday with the centre court crowd and three newcomers advanced to the quarterfinals.

Playing two days after the death of his childhood coach, the top-ranked Djokovic's emotion was clear to see after beating Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the last eight. He next plays 12th-seeded Tommy Haas of Germany. Despite coasting through the first set, she then dropped serve for the first time in the tournament, being broken three times in the second set, trailed 0-2 in the third and fought off two break points that would have seen her slip to 0-3. But she battled back, winning six of the next seven games to secure victory in a shade under two hours. Victory extended Williams' winning streak to 29 matches as she moved into a semi-final clash against Italian fifth seed Sara Errani, the runner-up to Maria Sharapova last year. "It was very difficult and I am very tired," said Williams. Williams, who had dropped just 10 games in reaching the last-eight, eased through the first set with breaks in the second and sixth games, sealing the opener with an ace, despite the challenges posed by a tricky, swirling wind inside Court Suzanne Lenglen.