HONG KONG (AP):

Venus Williams defeated Anna Chakvetadze 7-6 (1), 6-3 at the women's team exhibition tournament in Hong Kong yesterday, giving Team Americas a 1-0 lead over Russia in the best-of-five final.

Chakvetadze played well in the first set, responding to Williams' power-hitting with crafty counter-punching and big hitting of her own, but the Russian couldn't maintain her form in the second set.

"She's able to chase down a lot of balls," Williams said. "Against a player like that, it's just important to focus on what's happening on my side of the net and realise that I might have to hit two or three extra (balls). The reply might be a little shorter so I might have the chance to come in to be more aggressive."

Williams also beat the top-ranked Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in straight sets on Thursday in the semi-finals against Team Europe at the warm-up event for the Australian Open. Chakvetadze was up 4-2 in the first set, but Williams broke back in the eighth game. The Russian then missed two straight forehands in the tiebreaker to give Williams a 6-0 lead.