Tennis: Mixed day for Erakovic in Birmingham

Marina Erakovic's singles run at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham came to an end overnight (NZT) when she was ousted in straight sets by Italy's Francesca Schiavone but she progressed to the semifinals of the doubles.

Erakovic, who was looking to reach the quarter-finals at Birmingham for the third time in her career, was beaten by Schiavone, the world No 45, in the third round of the US$220,000 pre-Wimbledon grass court event with the Italian winning 7-6 6-3.

But she combined with Cara Black to move through to the doubles semifinals after beating second seeds Liezel Huber and Chan Hao-ching 2-6 6-3 10-7.