Stosur knocks out Serena

Seven-time grand slam champion Venus had not beaten Sharapova in three previous matches on hard courts, but on Friday she was the more aggressive and accurate in the hard-hitting rallies while destroying the Russian's second serves.  Venus will now face third seed Elena Dementieva of Russia who advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova.

The chance of an all-Williams final, however, had been ended when Australia's Stosur employed a huge serve, hard forehand and deft slice to upset Wimbledon champion Serena 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.  Stosur will play France's Marion Bartoli, who fought off two match points against fourth seed Jelena Jankovic in a 3-6, 7-6, 6-3 victory.

Safin ousted

Top-seeded German Tommy Haas survived a see-sawing opening set to beat Russian Marat Safin 7-6, 6-2 on Friday and book his place in the semifinals of the LA Open.

Haas will meet in-form American Sam Querrey.

A runner-up in his last two ATP events, sixth seed Querrey upset fourth-seeded Israeli Dudi Sela 6-3, 7-5 on a sun-splashed afternoon, breaking his opponent once in each set.

Earlier, little-known Australian qualifier Carsten Ball eased into his first ATP semifinal with a 6-4, 6-4 win against towering American player John Isner.

Ball will next meet Argentina's Leonardo Mayer, who gained a walkover into the last four when second-seeded American Mardy Fish pulled out because of an abdominal muscle injury.