Williams survives at Acapulco, bests Arn

ACAPULCO, MEXICO (TICKER) —Venus Williams received all she could handle from Hungarian qualifier Greta Arn on Wednesday.
The top-seeded American survived her second-round matchup at the Abierto Mexicano TELCEL tournament, pulling out a 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4 victory over Arn.
The worn-down Williams, who came into this $220,000 red clay event fresh off winning her 40th career title last weekend in Dubai, needed two hours and 43 minutes to dispose of Arn.
It was the second consecutive marathon-like match for Williams, who battled for nearly 2 1/2 hours before edging Spaniard Nuria Llagostera in the first round.
Williams was forced to grind it out in all three sets in this one, saving 9-of-12 break points that she faced. The world No. 5 and seven-time Grand Slam champion also relied on her powerful serve, blasting six aces.
The 160th-ranked player, Arn put up quite a fight. She remained competitive by winning 53 percent (21-of-40) of her second-return points.
Williams advanced to the quarterfinals to meet another Hungarian - lucky loser Agnes Szavay, who defeated Roberta Vinci, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old Williams is the only seeded player left on her side of the draw following the second-round upsets of No. 3 Carla Suarez-Navarro of Spain and No. 5 Gisela Dulko of Argentina.
The seventh-seeded Italian Tathiana Garbin withdrew from the event with an abdominal strain and eighth seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain was upset by Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, in the second round.
Cetkovska will now face No. 2 Flavia Pennetta, who cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier on Wednesday. The Italian collected two aces and overcame committing four double faults.
Along with Williams and Pennetta, Iveta Benesova is the only seeded player remaining in the tournament. The fourth-seeded Czech recorded a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) win over compatriot Klara Zakopalova.
Benesova will now take on Frenchwoman Mathilde Johansson, who advanced to the quarterfinals thanks to Garbin’s withdrawal.
First prize is $37,000.