Williams made to work for victory

Venus Williams was once again forced to go the distance before sealing a 6-2 5-7 6-1 victory over lucky loser Agnes Szavay of Hungary in the quarter-finals of the Abierto Mexicano TELCEL tournament.

The world number five had uncharacteristically spent more than five hours on the court during her first two matches in the competition, needing three sets to overcome a pair of unseeded opponents.