Seles stuns Venus to reach semis

Four times champion Monica Seles stunned an injury-hampered Venus Williams 6-7, 6-2, 6-3 on Tuesday to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open.

The victory, her first in seven matches against the U.S. Open and Wimbledon champion, put eighth seed Seles through to a Melbourne semi-final with third seed Martina Hingis. Williams had last lost a singles match in July.

Williams had suffered tendinitis in her left knee earlier in the tournament and pulled a muscle in her right leg in the first set of this quarter-final.

She received treatment, had more strapping on her upper leg and continued, but at times her movement seemed hampered.

Williams was forced to use high-risk all-or-nothing tactics which backfired as Seles squared the match then secured victory with big hitting of her own.

Seles's victory over Williams was the first by a top 10 player in 16 matches. The last elite player to beat Williams had been Hingis in the Melbourne semi-finals last year.