Venus reaches 3rd round at Pan Pacific

Venus Williams upset top-seeded Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday to advance to the third round of the Pan Pacific Open. Williams, making her first appearance in the Tokyo tournament since 2009, took advantage of six-double faults by Azarenka, who struggled with her game from the outset at Ariake Colosseum. Williams next faces No. 13-seeded Simona Halep of Romania, who defeated Germany’s Andrea Petkovic 7-6 (4), 6-3.

In other second-round matches, second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland defeated Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak 7-6 (5), 6-0. Fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark overpowered Flavia Pennetta 6-2, 6-3.

Svetlana Kuznetsova also advanced by beating third-seeded Sara Errani of Italy 6-4, 6-4. Kuznetsova, a two-time major winner, hit seven aces in the match. Cirstea beat Japanese wild-card entry Misaki Doi 6-1, 6-2.  Eugenie Bouchard defeated ninth-seeded Sloane Stephens of the United States 5-7, 7-6 (7), 6-3.