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Tennis

Venus Williams ousts Kerber to reach Miami semi-final

Venus Williams swept past top seed Angelique Kerber on Wednesday night to reach the semi-finals of the Miami Open.  

Venus Williams is a three time champion at the Miami Open.
Venus Williams is a three time champion at the Miami Open. Reuters/USA Today/Geoff Burke
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Williams, who at 36 is the oldest woman in the draw, beat 29-year-old Kerber 7-5 6-3 to set up a clash with Johanna Konta who came from a set down to defeat Romania's Simon Halep 3-6 7-6 6-2.

With the crowd behind her, Williams, a three-time winner of the Miami title, took the first set after 57 minutes. The victory was completed 42 minutes later with a trademark backhand cross-court winner.

"It was an interesting match. I was controlling it but I had more errors and a lower first serve percentage than I would have liked," said Williams. "I had to play well against the number one in the world. She's on top of her game and she was playing well so I had to find a way to play a little better."

Kerber gracious in defeat

Kerber, who won the Australian and US Opens last season, has yet to win a tournament this year.

"This wasn't the best start I would have wished for. But it's not a drama because I'm still playing good and winning matches," she said. "It wasn't my best game. But Venus deserved to win because she played really well."

Konta beats Halep

Konta's victory over Halep made her the first British woman to reach the last four at Miami.

"I'm really happy that I've come through," said the 25-year-old. "I am just looking forward to my next match. It's going to be a tough one."

Konta, who has won two of her three encounters with Williams, dealt deftly with adversity during her match against the third seed on Wednesday night.

Halep was dominant in the first set and despite falling behind early in the second set, battled back from an early break to take a 5-4 lead.

However the 25-year-old fluffed her chance to serve out for a straight sets win. She compounded her lack of composure by squandering leads in the second set tiebreak;

Konta eventually won that nine points to seven and then was too powerful in the decider.

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