Serena crashes out of Italian Open

ROME: American eighth seed Serena Williams crashed out of the Italian Open on Friday after losing to Patty Schnyder in the quarter-finals.    

Schnyder, the 14th seed and a runner-up here two years ago, beat the eight-time Grand Slam winner 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5) to set up a semi-final meeting with Serbian Jelena Jankovic.    

Jankovic, seeded three, defeated Russian 10th seed Elena Dementieva 6-2, 6-1.    

Schnyder admitted Williams, the reigning Australian Open champion, was difficult to shake off.    

"She's such a champion and she pushed me all the way," said the 28-year-old Swiss who had lost six of her previous seven encounters with the former world number one.    

"But I always believed I could win. My confidence has been high this week and I have been playing well."    

Jankovic, winner of two WTA singles titles this year, insisted her match with Dementieva, runner-up at the French and US Open in 2004, was much harder than the score suggested.    

"There were some really tough games and the final result didn't really reflect how difficult it was at times," said the 22-year-old Florida resident.    

In the two other quarter-final matches, sixth seed Dinara Safina faces Russian compatriot and second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, while Slovakian 10th seed Daniela Hantuchova takes on unseeded Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues.