Errani beats good friend Vinci in U.S. Open quarters

NEW YORK (AP) - Sara Errani beat good friend and doubles partner Roberta Vinci to reach the semifinals at the U.S. Open.

The normally feisty Errani didn't pump her fist or even smile after clinching the 6-2, 6-4 victory Wednesday. The two embraced at the net afterward, the 10th-seeded Errani looking far more relieved than joyful.

Their matchup guaranteed an Italian woman would reach the semifinals at this tournament for the first time in the Open era, which began in 1968.

Wearing identical pink and black outfits in a mostly empty Louis Armstrong Stadium after rain disrupted the schedule, the two played a subdued match that often felt more like a practice than a Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Errani and Vinci, who won a French Open doubles title this year, have reached the semifinals together here.