Pennetta upsets injured Stosur at San Diego

Flavia Pennetta continued her dominance of Samantha Stosur with a victory in the San Diego Open.

San Diego: Italy`s Flavia Pennetta continued her dominance of an injury-hampered Samantha Stosur with a 6-4, 6-3 victory in the quarter-finals of the San Diego Open on Friday.

Fifth seed Pennetta set up a semi-final with twice grand slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, who ended the hopes of American teenager Coco Vandeweghe 7-5, 6-2.Pole Agnieszka Radwanska will meet Slovakia`s Daniela Hantuchova in the other semi-final after thrashing Israel`s Shahar Peer 6-2, 6-0. Pennetta has never dropped a set in three meetings to world number five Stosur and ran the Australian around the court while notching up 19 winners. "If I stay doing the same things against her then it`s better for me," said Pennetta, who has played 51 matches this year, more than any other player. "I played backhands down the line deep and I can return her kick serve really well. I have (a) few shots that make her very nervous all the time." Stosur complained of a muscle injury in her arm that she said had bothered her since her first match at the Stanford Classic last week and had led to a hospital visit after her loss to the Italian. "It`s like a really strong, heavy ache when it starts and I can`t get rid of it until I get off the court," said the Australian, who reached her first grand slam final at the French Open in June. "I can`t work out what`s going on. It hurts every time when I get on court. If I`m going to go on court I want to play the best I can, and maybe now I can`t. It can start to wear you down a little."Kuznetsova had little to complain about in her victory over 18-year-old qualifier Vandeweghe, coming back from 2-5 down and saving a set point in the first set. Vandeweghe, who had upset Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva in her previous match, double-faulted to hand the Russian a service break then erred on a backhand to concede the set. Kuznetsova powered away in the second set, taking the match when her visibly tiring opponent missed another backhand. "It was a great run," said Vandeweghe, who earned a wild card for next week`s tournament in Cincinnati. "But there`s a reason why she`s a two-time grand slam champion -- she got on top of my pace and made me play a lot more." Hantuchova overcame a slow start to defeat Russian Kleybanova 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Bureau Report