Williams moves into the quarters

Venus Williams kept the defence of her Abierto Mexicano Telcel tournament title on track with a win over Kaia Kanepi.

The former world number one was made to sweat by her Estonian rival who twice broke her in the opening set, but struggled on her own serve and was broken to concede the opener.

Kanepi then immediately broke Williams, but the American overpowered her to reach the last eight.

It was a good day for the top seeds with Agnes Szavay (second), Gisela Dulko (third) and Carla Suarez Navarro (fifth) all progressing to the quarter-finals.

Hungarian Szavay was too strong for Renata Voracova 7-5 6-1 while Dulko won by the same scoreline against Barbora Zahlavova Strycov.

Spain's Suarez Navarro was taken the distance by Catalina Castano 6-1 4-6 6-2 in a match that lasted two hours and 14 minutes.

Eighth seed Polona Hercog reached the last eight with a 6-2 6-4 victory over Alize Cornet.

Spanish qualifier Laura Pous Tio caused the biggest upset of the day when she beat seventh seed Roberta Vinci 6-3 6-2.

Sixth seed Sara Errani followed her fellow Italian out of the tournament at the hands of Edina Gallouitis 6-4 5-7 6-4.

Canada's Sharon Finschman, who beat fourth seed Sorana Cirstea in the opening round, continued her impressive run with a 6-2 6-3 win over Mariya Kuryttseva.

Red hot Venus rolls on

Venus Williams continued her good form with a 6-2 6-3 win over Mathilde Johansson at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel tournament.

The top seed is fresh from her hard-court title at Dubai last weekend and had few problems with her Swedish opponent on the clay in Mexico.

"It was a really good first match," Williams said.

"I was just trying to get my rhythm on the clay and make the transition."

Third seed Gisela Dulko overcame a mid-match slump to defeat Lucie Hradecka 6-1 2-6 6-2 while fifth seed Carla Suarez Navarro did not drop a game in coasting past Hungary's Greta Arn 6-0 6-0.

Roberta Vinci, the seventh seed, made it a good day for the seeded players as she rallied from a set down to beat Arantxa Parra Santonja 2-6 6-3 6-4.

Qualifiers Laura Pous Tio and Catalina Castano both progressed after they recorded surprise wins of Patricia Mayr and Klara Zakopalova respectively.

Elsewhere, there were first-round victories for Kaia Kanepi, Mariya Koryttseva and Edina Gallovits.

Kleybanova sees off Molik challenge

Alisa Kleybanova eased through to the second round of the Malaysian Open with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Australia's Alicia Molik.

The world number 31 was far more potent on her serve than Molik, formerly a top-10 player before being struck down by illness and injury, and she wrapped up the match in an hour and five minutes.

However, fifth seed Melinda Czink crashed out to Yan Zi on a final-set tie-break despite having won the opening set 6-3.

Her Chinese opponent took the second 7-5 before prevailing 7-6 (7/5) in the decider in a match that lasted 12 minutes shy of three hours.

Eighth seed Olga Govortsova suffered the same fate, going out to Anastasia Rodionova in a see-saw match.

Rodionova won the first set 6-4 before Govortsova, the world number 51, hit back to win the second 6-0.

Rodionova, of Australia, then defied a rankings gap of 46 to win the decider 7-5 in a match lasting two and a quarter hours.

Bojana Jovanovski beat Vitalia Diatchenko 6-3 6-1, Galina Voskoboeva produced five aces and saw her opponent serve four double faults but she could not take advantage as she went down 7-5 6-4 to Ayumi Morita.

Federer backing for repentant Woods

Roger Federer has pledged unflinching support to embattled fellow world number one Tiger Woods and believes "the worst has passed".

Woods last week fought back tears as he issued a full and frank apology for cheating on his wife but stopped short of announcing when he will return to golf.

"Tiger is a good friend of mine," tennis number one Federer said in The Gulf News.

"What's happened to him has been hard to watch over the last three months right down to when he made his apology. I am sure he's headed in a better direction now. The worst has passed.

"I hope that he can also work things out with his wife Elin because they are very nice people - obviously for the sake of their kids as well."

Federer has not spoken to Woods since the November car crash which preceded the revelations about his private life, but insists they remain friends.

"I have supported him, but I haven't had any contact with him," added the Swiss star, who was forced to withdraw from this week's Dubai Tennis Championship due to a lung infection.

"He has been where he knows he has been (in therapy) but my support does not change. I wish him the best.

"It's been hard to watch from far away but I would love to see him back on the golf course. It is what he does best."

Sharapova victorious in Memphis

Top seed Maria Sharapova lost only three games on her way to the WTA Cellular South Cup title in Memphis.

The 22-year-old Russian defeated Swedish qualifier Sofia Arvidsson 6-2 6-1 to secure a 21st Tour crown in impressive style.

Sharapova, competing in her first tournament since losing in the first round of the Australian Open last month, did not drop a set throughout the event.

"I feel great. I came here for matches - I got five and I got the win, so it was a good week," she said.

"I served and returned well - two things that are very important indoors.

"I also did the right things against Sofia. I worked hard after the Australian Open and little by little things are coming along."

The final of the ATP Regions Morgan Keegan Championships will be a battle of the American giants on Sunday when 6ft 9in John Isner takes on 6ft 6in Davis Cup team-mate Sam Querrey.

In Saturday's semi-finals, sixth seed Isner overcame Germany's Philipp Petzschner 7-5 4-6 6-3 while eighth seed Querrey, who toppled defending champion and top seed Andy Roddick on Friday, ousted Latvian Ernests Gulbis 6-3 6-4.

Sunday's championship match will be the second this year for Isner, who was victorious in Auckland last month.

"It's huge," he said. "It'll be my second final already this year in my third tournament.

"I know I've done really well but I'm not satisfied, that's for sure."

Ferrero triumphs in Buenos Aires

Second seed Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain claimed his second ATP Tour title in as many weeks on Sunday.

This was after he beat top-seeded compatriot David Ferrer in the final of the ATP Copa Telmex in Buenos Aires.

Ferrero, who also triumphed at the Brasil Open last weekend, battled from a set down to overcome Ferrer 5-7 6-4 6-3 in a match which lasted more than two and a half hours.

The 30-year-old's victory made him the third Spaniard to claim the Copa Telmex crown since the tournament started in 2001, following Carlos Moya (2003 and 2006) and Tommy Robredo (2009).

Ferrero was thrilled to have clinched his 14th ATP title so soon after the 13th.

"I feel unbelievable after winning two weeks in a row," he said. "It is a great feeling.

"I think the key to my current success is the physical work I have done. I have been working very hard and I know that I can be on the court forever. That helps my game a lot because I get to the ball much early and can be more aggressive.

"This also helps me mentally. I feel very strong and know that I have more resources now when playing important points."

Ferrer said: "It was a great match with a very high level of tennis from both sides.

"Each time we play we know we are going to play with a lot of rhythm and whoever is in better shape takes the match.

"It was very intense and we both had our chances.

"In the third set he played much more aggressively than I did and that made a difference in the important points."

Roddick safetly through in Memphis

Andy Roddick reached the quarter-finals of the ATP Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis for the ninth successive year.

The defending champion clinched a straight-sets victory over Chinese Taipei's Yen-Hsun Lu.

The American triumphed 7-6 (7/2) 6-4 in his second-round match to set up a last-eight meeting with compatriot Sam Querrey.

Querrey, the eighth seed, encountered few problems in seeing off Argentina's Leonardo Mayer 6-4 6-0.

Fifth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych was given a stern test by American Michael Russell but eventually prevailed 3-6 6-3 6-2 and will face Latvia's Ernests Gulbis in the last eight.

Croatia's Ivo Karlovic also progressed with a 6-4 6-4 win over Belgian Xavier Malisse while Lukas Lacko won through after Frenchman Jeremy Chardy retired with a stomach illness with the Slovakian 7-6 (7/4) 2-1 up in their clash.

Karlovic will play American John Isner in the quarter-finals while Lacko will take on Philipp Petzschner of Germany.

In the WTA Cellular South Cup, top-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova enjoyed a straight-sets passage to the semi-finals but second seed Melanie Oudin and third seed Kaia Kanepi crashed out.

American Oudin went down 6-1 6-3 to Swedish qualifier Sofia Arvidsson and fifth-seeded Czech Petra Kvitova battled back to defeat Estonia's Kanepi 1-6 6-3 7-6 (7/0).

Sharapova saw off eighth seed Elena Baltacha 6-2 7-5, but there will be British interest in the last eight after Anne Keothavong overcame Croatia's Karolina Sprem 6-4 6-3 in their quarter-final.

Sharapova will take on Kvitova in the semi-finals, while Keothavong will face Arvidsson.

Zakopalova survives scare in Bogota

Seventh seed Klara Zakopalova was made to fight all the way for her place in the quarter-finals of the WTA Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas in Bogota by Mariya Koryttseva.

The Czech was dominated by her Ukrainian opponent in the first set but battled back to win 1-6 6-3 6-4 and set up a last-eight date with Colombia's Mariana Duque Marino, who edged past Ukraine's Kristina Antoniychuk 7-6 (7/3) 7-6 (12/10).

In Thursday's other second-round match in the Colombian capital, Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier defeated home favourite Catalina Castano 6-2 6-4 to secure a quarter-final meeting with fifth-seeded German Angelique Kerber.

Roger Federer tops ATP awards

Roger Federer again swept the board as the winners of the ATP World Tour Awards were announced.

The Swiss star enjoyed a momentous 2009, completing his grand slam collection by winning a first French Open in June to equal Pete Sampras' world record of 14 majors then surpassing the mark with a sixth Wimbledon title.

He also reached the final at the 2009 Australian Open and US Open and regained the world number one spot he had lost to Rafael Nadal.

Federer, 28, won the Player of the Year award for a fifth time, was selected by his fellow players to receive the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for a record sixth consecutive year and was voted ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favourite for a seventh straight season.

The world number one, who began 2010 by winning the Australian Open last month, said: "It was a great achievement to once again finish the season at number one, especially in a year that was so special for me off the court with my marriage and birth of my daughters.

"It is also very humbling to be awarded the sportsmanship award again by my fellow ATP players, many of whom I have known for a long time."

In other awards, American twins Bob and Mike Bryan were named ATP World Tour Doubles Team of the Year, 6ft 9in American John Isner was honoured as the Most Improved Player of the Year and Argentinian Horacio Zeballos picked up the Newcomer of the Year gong after climbing into the world's top 50.