Venus ends Serena's spell at Nasdaq-100

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Venus Williams ended a streak of six consecutive losses to sister Serena, winning 6-1, 7-6 (8) Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the Nasdaq-100 Open.

Meeting for the first time since July 2003, the sisters produced the same tense, sloppy tennis that has marred the rivalry in the past.

Venus' opponent in the semifinals Thursday will be No. 2-seeded Maria Sharapova, who disrupted Justine Henin-Hardenne's comeback from a seven-month layoff by winning 6-1, 6-7 (6), 6-2.

Reaching the men's quarterfinals were top-ranked Roger Federer and six-time Key Biscayne champion Andre Agassi.

Federer was pushed to three sets for the second match in a row but beat Mario Ancic 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Federer, bidding for his first Key Biscayne title, extended his winning streak to 19 matches and improved to 45-1 since the start of last year's U.S. Open.

Agassi endured a grueling first set and beat French Open champion Gaston Gaudio 7-6 (7), 6-2.