Pe’er pummeled by Radwanska in San Diego

Andy Ram and Julian Knowle advanced to the semifinals.

By ALLON SINAI, AP
311_Peer looking disgusted at ball (photo credit: Associated Press)
311_Peer looking disgusted at ball
(photo credit: Associated Press)
Shahar Pe’er suffered one of her worst defeats of the year on Friday, claiming just two games in a 6-2, 6-0 loss to world No. 10 Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarterfinals of the Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego.
The Pole thrashed Pe’er (ranked 17) in exactly an hour, breaking the Israeli in five of her seven service games.
Elsewhere, Dudi Sela’s decision to play on the Challenger circuit seems to be paying off after he reached the semifinals of the Vancouver tournament on Friday.
Sela (107) beat Marinko Matosevic (179) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (4) and faced No. 1 seed Taylor Dent (82) in the semifinals late Saturday night.
Meanwhile, Andy Ram and Julian Knowle advanced to the semifinals of the doubles tournament at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic on Friday, defeating Stanislas Wawrinka and Marcos Baghdatis.
Also, in the women’s event in San Diego, Flavia Pennetta of Italy moved into the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-3 win over second-seeded Samantha Stosur.
Pennetta’s win over Stosur means all three of the top seeds have been eliminated.
Pennetta took control with her consistent and accurate ground strokes, along with a more effective serve.
Pennetta had 19 winners compared to 12 for her Australian opponent in her third straight win over Stosur.
“It’s a good feeling because she’s one of the best players in the world right now,” Pennetta said. “She has had an unbelievable year. It’s never easy to beat this kind of player. For me, it’s much better to play against her.”
Pennetta, the No. 5 seed from Italy, will meet Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals. Kuznetsova ended the run of local teenager CoCo Vandeweghe 7-5, 6-2.
In a match of unseeded players, Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova eliminated Alisa Kleybanova of Russia, 2-6, 6- 4, 6-3 to reach the semifinals. Hantuchova will play Radwanska.
In Washington, Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus recovered quickly after twisting his left ankle in the Legg Mason semifinals Saturday and ended the surprising run by unseeded Xavier Malisse of Belgium.
The No. 8-seeded Baghdatis beat Malisse 6-2, 7-6 (4) and will meet No.
4-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia or unseeded David Nalbandian of Argentina in Sunday’s final.