KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – Venus and Serena Williams say they’ve seen little of each other the past week because of their busy schedules. That will change Thursday night, when they meet in the semifinals at the Sony Ericsson Open.
The 20th showdown between the sisters ensures a finalist from the family Saturday. The Williamses have won eight of the past 11 Key Biscayne titles.
“I believe we are the best in the world,” Venus said. “I enjoy playing Serena because we challenge each other the most.”
“I’m always going to be up for ‘V,’ because she’s playing really well and always playing me super tough,” top-ranked Serena said.
She advanced first Wednesday, overcoming a dismal start to beat unseeded Li Na 4-6, 7-6 (1), 6-2. Five hours later she was joined in the semis by No. 5-seeded Venus, who beat No. 26 Iveta Benesova 6-1, 6-4.
In the showcase night match, No. 2 Roger Federer needed dominant serving and one lucky bounce to beat Andy Roddick 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Federer lost serve just once and broke after hitting a passing shot on the next-to-last point that clipped the net cord and hopped over Roddick’s racket for a winner.
Federer improved to 17-2 against Roddick and avenged a defeat when they met in the Key Biscayne quarterfinals last year.
Federer’s opponent Friday will be No. 3-seeded Novak Djokovic, who beat No. 10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-4. The other women’s semifinal Thursday will be between No. 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 11 Victoria Azarenka.
Bruce to return to 49ers
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Receiver Isaac Bruce is postponing retirement for another season with the San Francisco 49ers.
Bruce, the second-leading receiver in NFL history with 14,944 yards, informed coach Mike Singletary on Wednesday of his decision to return for his 16th NFL season.
He missed the 49ers’ minicamp last month while contemplating retirement, but his return is a major boost to a San Francisco offense that would have lacked a top receiver.
Bruce led San Francisco with 61 catches for 835 yards and seven touchdowns last season, his first with the 49ers after 14 seasons with the Rams.
Bruce hit two major milestones during a late-season win over St. Louis, passing Tim Brown for the second-most receiving yards in league history and becoming the fifth player to catch 1,000 passes.