Venus Williams comes from behind to advance

Venus Williams rallied to beat Daniela Hantuchova, 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, in the fourth round at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., on Monday.

The third-seeded Williams trailed for most of the match but swept the final seven points, hitting winners on the last four points. She overcame 45 unforced errors, including 11 as she lost the first four games.

Williams improved to 10-0 against Hantuchova.

The lone American woman to reach the final 16, Williams is seeking her fourth Key Biscayne title, but her first since 2001. Her quarterfinal opponent will be No. 6 Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-1, 6-4.

An unusually inconsistent Roger Federer edged Florent Serra, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3), in the third round. The top-ranked Federer lost serve three times, each time when he led. He committed 35 unforced errors to 32 for Serra.

But Federer won eight consecutive service points in the tiebreakers and closed out the victory with a service winner.

The top-seeded woman, Svetlana Kuznetsova, was hampered by a right shoulder injury and lost to Marion Bartoli, 6-3, 6-0, in the fourth round.

Kuznetsova, the 2006 champion, required treatment from a trainer three times during the match and won only eight points in the second set.

Mardy Fish reached the fourth round with his second consecutive win over a seeded opponent, beating No. 29 Feliciano Lopez, 7-5, 6-3. Fish upset defending champion Andy Murray in the second round.

Federer’s fourth-round opponent will be No. 16 Tomas Berdych, who beat Horacio Zeballos, 6-4, 7-5.

JURISPRUDENCE

Steelers’ Holmes is sued

A Florida woman is suing Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Santonio Holmes, saying the one-time Super Bowl most valuable player hit her in the face with a glass at an Orlando nightclub and then offered to pay her so she wouldn’t press charges.

Anshonoe Mills claimed in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that Holmes grabbed her face and threw the glass at her because she was sitting on a couch in the nightclub’s VIP section on March 7.

The lawsuit said the glass hit Mills on the right side of the face, cutting the woman near the eye. The four-page document also claimed Holmes and a police officer intimidated Mills so she wouldn’t press charges.

ETC.

Marathon runner out of coma

Jay Yim, the 21-year-old who went into cardiac arrest during the 18th mile of the Los Angeles Marathon on March 21, has been upgraded to good condition at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, according to his physician, Dr. Paul Vespa.

Yim, a USC student from Phoenix, has emerged from the induced cooling coma doctors used to protect his brain. Doctors also credited an off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officer and a UCLA surgeon who performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Yim for saving his life.

—Ben Bolch

Matt Cain and the San Francisco Giants have agreed to a $27.25-million, three-year contract, and closer Brian Wilson has been given a $15-million, two-year extension through 2012.

WNBA star Cappie Pondexter is headed to the New York Liberty as part of a major three-team trade.

The league champion Phoenix Mercury has a deal in place to send the All-Star guard to New York for Shameka Christon and Cathrine Kraayeveld, according to a person familiar with the trade. Christon and Kraayeveld will be shipped to Chicago for All-Star Candice Dupree.

The person told the Associated Press on Monday night on condition of anonymity because the trade hadn’t been announced.