Serena advances; Radwanska, Wozniacki exit Rome
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Last week's Madrid titlist Serena Williams moved on, while world No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska and former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki went by way of the upset Wednesday at the $2.168 million Italian Open tennis event, a clay-court French Open tune-up.
The ninth-seeded former No. 1 Williams had to come from behind to best former top-10 Russian Nadia Petrova 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in 2 hours, 9 minutes on the red clay at Foro Italico.
The 2002 Rome champion Williams, now 15-0 on clay this year, upset current world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in last week's finale on the controversial blue clay in Madrid.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Up next for the powerful American will be Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues.
Meanwhile, Radwanska succumbed to Czech Petra Cetkovska 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 and the sixth-seeded Wozniacki gave way to the clay-court specialist Medina Garrigues 6-4, 4-0, as the Danish star retired because of upper respiratory illness.
Fifth-seeded U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur avoided an upset by handling Italian crowd favorite Sara Errani 6-3, 7-5. Stosur was last year's Italian Open runner-up to former No. 1 Maria Sharapova.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Eighth-seeded reigning French Open champion Li Na, of China, got past Czech veteran Iveta Benesova 6-1, 7-5, while another upset came when capable German Julia Goerges drubbed seventh-seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli 6-3, 6-1.
In other second-round action involving seeds, No. 12 German Angelique Kerber whipped American Vania King 6-3, 6-2, No. 13 Ana Ivanovic pasted Spanish qualifier Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-1, 6-2, and No. 14 Slovak Dominika Cibulkova edged out Italian wild card Karin Knapp 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Up next for the former French Open champion Ivanovic will be her fellow former No. 1 Sharapova.
South African Chanelle Scheepers overcame New Zealand's Marina Erakovic 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, while Italian favorite Flavia Pennetta dismissed American qualifier Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-3, and Romanian Sorana Cirstea leveled Swede Sofia Arvidsson 6-3, 6-1 in some other second-round play.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The 2012 Rome titlist will collect $385,000.