Venus upset in second round

In the biggest upset so far at the season’s first major, sixth-seeded Venus Williams lost, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, in the second round of the Australian Open to Carla Suarez Navarro, a 20-year-old Spaniard ranked No. 46.

“She was super consistent and aggressive and just went for her shots,” said Williams, the reigning Wimbledon champion. “I wasn’t in control of the points.”

Williams was broken while serving for the match and dropped the last five games.

Suarez Navarro reached the French Open quarterfinals last year as a qualifier, beating 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo before losing to runner-up Jelena Jankovic.

“You must be aggressive during all the match because, if not, she’s going to take control of you,” Suarez Navarro said of her biggest win so far in four Grand Slam events.

It means there will be no Williams vs. Williams showdown in the semifinals.

Second-seeded Serena Williams did her part, advancing, 6-3, 7-5, over Argentina’s Gisela Dulko.

But she was far from happy, giving herself a “D-minus at best” for her form.

Olympic silver medalist Dinara Safina reached the fourth round for the first time in seven trips here, beating Kaia Kanepi, 6-2, 6-2, today.

The 22-year-old Russian took 4-1 leads in each set and ousted the 25th-seeded Kanepi in 66 minutes.

“There’s a first time for everything. Twice I lost in the third round,” Safina said.

She broke into the top 10 last year for the first time and credits having a full-time coach and trainer for the rise.

The third-seeded Safina hasn’t won a Grand Slam singles title, but she reached the French Open final last year before losing to Ana Ivanovic.

Safina planned to rest and return to Rod Laver Arena later today to watch older brother, Marat Safin, play second-ranked Roger Federer.

“Well, I hope on center court with winning, I hope he can close the same way I win today,” Safina said. “I hope so.”

Vera Zvonareva and Nadia Petrova also advanced to the fourth round.

On the men’s side, eighth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro beat Gilles Muller, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3, 7-5. Del Potro won the Auckland title coming into Melbourne and is on a seven-match winning streak.

No. 19 Marin Cilic had an upset 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 11 David Ferrer.