Tennis-Stosur thunderbolt fails to unsettle Martinez Sanchez

By Barry Wood

BALI, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Second seed Samantha Stosur fired down a WTA Tour record 208kph serve but a 7-6 7-5 defeat by Spaniard Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez eliminated the Australian from the Tournament of Champions on Friday.

Stosur's thunderbolt eclipsed the previous best of 207.6 kph held by Venus Williams. The WTA said the record was pending verification.

Victory put Martinez Sanchez through to the last four and a meeting with Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai who qualified from her group on Thursday. Marion Bartoli of France will play Japanese wild card Kimiko Date Krumm in the other semi-final.

Bartoli earned her place by defeating Israel's Shahar Peer 6-3 6-2.

Date Krumm benefited from the withdrawal of Yanina Wickmayer, who quit the tournament and left the resort island mid-event on Thursday after receiving a doping ban from Belgian authorities.

Wickmayer was banned for failing to comply with doping regulations, a report on the Belgium Tennis Federation's website said.

Russian Vera Dushevina was called in to replace Wickmayer, and she defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues 2-6 6-1 7-5 to leave the Spaniard with a win in her two matches. Date Krumm advanced as a result of her 1-1 record in her round robin matches.

Peer had won six of her seven previous matches against Bartoli but the Frenchwoman's aggressive play kept her Israeli opponent under constant pressure. Bartoli's only nervous moment came when she was leading 4-2 in the second set and Peer held two break points.