Tennis: Pe'er can't find a way to beat Chakvetadze

By AMANDA DAN
Shahar Pe'er suffered her fourth defeat in five career meetings against Anna Chakvetadze in California on Wednesday, losing 3-6, 4-6 in the second round of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford. The 21-year-old Israeli, who is ranked No. 25 in the world, dropped three of her first four service games against the Russian (eight in the world) and was knocked out after losing the last three games of the match. Top-seeded Serena Williams rallied from one set down to beat hard-hitting teenager Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the second round. Williams looked completely out of sync for much of the match. Against a 15-year-old qualifier no less. "It's definitely encouraging to know I can bounce back. I haven't been down a set for a while," Williams said. "It's the kind of practice I need." Williams, playing her first match since losing the Wimbledon final to big sister Venus, committed eight unforced errors in the initial 12 points. She sprayed her typically reliable groundstrokes long and wide. She hit ball after ball into the bottom of the net and regularly missed first serves. Her father, Richard, briefly left his seat in a corner box after watching his daughter struggle so mightily. "I think if she plays the way she did against me, she'll be a great player," Williams said. Earlier Wednesday, Ai Sugiyama ousted fourth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 6-3, 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. AP contributed to this report.