Myskina disposes of Venus and reaches semis for first time

Fourth seed Venus Williams joined her sister Serena on the way to the French Open's exit door as she was defeated in straight sets in the quarter-finals by sixth seed Anastasia Myskina.

The 22-year-old Russian, ranked fifth in the world, overcame the elder Williams 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 12 minutes.

This is the first time Myskina has progressed to the French Open’s semi-finals after suffering premature exits in all her four previous visits.

Myskina, in search of her first title in a grand slam after reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals in January, swept past Williams in the first set, winning 6-3 in less than 30 minutes.

She then broke Williams to take a 4-3 lead before winning her serve.

Leading 5-3, Myskina overcame three break points against her before sealing the match on her first opportunity when Williams fired a backhand wide.