Williams sisters reach semis of US Open doubles

Venus Williams, left, and Serena Williams react after a point against Sara Errani, of Italy, and Roberta Vinci, of Italy, during the women’s doubles quarterfinals of the 2013 U.S. Open tennis tournament, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013, in New York. AP Photo/Mike Groll

NEW YORK – Venus and Serena Williams have knocked out the top-seeded women’s doubles team at the U.S. Open to advance to the semifinals.

The Williams sisters beat defending champions Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani of Italy 6-3, 6-1 to move two wins away from their 14th Grand Slam tournament title.

Their victory in Armstrong Stadium finished less than an hour after Americans Bob and Mike Bryan had their quest for the calendar Grand Slam halted next door in Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Bryans fell 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Leander Paes of India and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic.

Serena Williams, looking for back-to-back singles titles, plays her semifinal on Friday against Li Na.

The sisters play their next doubles match against Czech pair Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hra