Serena Williams' back injury was the early headline at Friday's quarterfinals of the $1.34 million Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome.

The fifth-seeded Williams, a seven-time winner in Grand Slam events, opted out of her scheduled match against unseeded Alize Cornet of France when she sustained the injury during practice.

It happened all of a sudden, Williams said. I went for a shot and then my back got a little stuck. I tried to wait until the last possible moment to see if I could play.

Cornet joined defending champion Jelena Jankovic and sixth-seeded Anna Chakvetadze for Saturday's semifinals.

Jankovic, the fourth seed, defeated No. 7 seed Venus Williams, 5-7, 6-2, 6-3, while Russia's Chakvetadze ousted Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.

In the day's late match, second-seeded Maria Sharapova was trailing No. 9 Patty Schnyder.

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