Venus advances in Advanta

Venus Williams overcame a slow start to roll past 16-year-old qualifier Daniela Bedanova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-1 on Thursday night to advance to the quarter-finals of the Advanta Championships in Villanova, Pennsylvania.

Venus Williams overcame a slow start to roll past 16-year-old qualifier Daniela Bedanova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-1 on Thursday night to advance to the quarter-finals of the Advanta Championships in Villanova, Pennsylvania.

Williams, seeded third, will meet unseeded Sandrine Testud of France on Friday.

After falling behind 4-2 in the first set, Williams swept the final four games, coming more to the net to force play, and capturing the first set when Bedanova's forehand sailed over the baseline.

Williams jumped to a 2-0 lead in the second set, before having her service broken for the second time in the match. She broke back when Bedanova double-faulted, then wasted little time finishing off her hard-hitting but overmatched opponent.

"I just dropped my serve a couple of times," Williams said. "But I've been in that situation of being down a break before. I was able to keep my calm and take my time.

"She was definitely hitting hard. But I was definitely volleying better. After the US Open I worked on my volley. I don't think I missed one tonight."

Earlier, Nathalie Tauziat of France rallied from a 5-2, third-set deficit to beat Jennifer Capriati 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in the second round. Tauziat, seeded fourth, meets local favorite Lisa Raymond of Wayne, Pennsylvania on Friday.

Testud beat seventh-seeded Dominique Van Roost of Belgium 6-4, 6-4.

Amy Frazier beat 17-year-old Belgian Justine Henin 7-5, 6-4 to keep alive a slim hope of making the 16-woman field for the upcoming Chase Championships in New York. Frazier must now beat the top player in the world and No. 1 seed here, Martina Hingis, on Friday night to bump Arantxa Sanchez Vicario from the field.

Capriati's loss to Tauziat, after she seemed in command in the final set, officially eliminated her from contention for the Chase.

"At 5-2 on her serve, I had a really bad line call go against me," said Capriati, who beat Tauziat the previous five times they played. "She played really well. It wasn't like I didn't have chances or was playing terrible. That's just the way tennis is. It has a snowball effect," Capriati said.

Tauziat said the key was not getting down on herself just when the match seemed lost.

"I've won two tournaments in three weeks, so my confidence is very high," said Tauziat, currently a career-best No 7 in the WTA rankings. "Maybe I won this match because I had the confidence.

"When she served for the match at 5-3, I thought, 'Now's the time to break her.' I had almost broken her serve early in the set. The key was I was making my returns," Tauziat said.

Singles Second Round (seedings in brackets)

Sandrine Testud, France, beat Dominique Van Roost (7), Belgium, 6-4, 6-4.Amy Frazier, United States, beat Justine Henin, Belgium, 7-5, 6-4.Nathalie Tauziat (4), France, beat Jennifer Capriati, United States, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.Venus Williams (3), United States, beat Daniela Bedanova, Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-1.

Doubles First Round

Chanda Rubin, United States, and Sandrine Testud, France beat Irina Spirlea, Romania, and Caroline Vis (4), Netherlands 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.Cara Black, Zimbabwe, and Debbie Graham, United States, beat Alexandra Fusai, France, and Nathalie Tauziat (3), France, 6-1, 6-3.Lindsay Davenport, United States, and Corina Morariu, United States, beat Lori McNeil and Kimberly Po (1), United States 7-5, 6-1.Lisa Raymond, United States, and Rennae Stubbs, Australia, beat Amanda Coetzer, South Africa, and Elena Likovtseva (2), Russia 7-5, 7-6 (7-3).