Azarenka through to Luxembourg semifinals

No. 1-seeded Victoria Azarenka used a straight-set victory Friday to claim a semifinal berth at the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open tennis tournament. Azarenka defeated Iveta Benesova 6-3, 6-2, winning 57 percent of the points on serve and 55 percent when receiving. She lost serve once in each set but had a total of five breaks to offset those missteps. Sixth-seeded Julia Goerges, the only other seeded player to make the quarterfinals in Luxembourg, had built a 5-2 lead in the first set when Anastasija Sevastova was forced to retire. Azarenka and Goerges, who split their two previous career meetings this year, will meet in one semifinal Saturday while the other sends Monica Niculescu against Anne Keothavong. Niculescu won three of the four matches she's had against Keothavong. All four of those were in 2008. Niculescu earned her semifinal spot with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Lucie Hradecka while Keothavong ousted fellow qualifier Bibiane Schoofs 6-3, 6-2.