Indian Wells: Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams slumped to a three-set defeat at the hands of Russian Elena Vesnina on Thursday in the quarter-finals of the WTA Indian Wells tournament. Williams, runner-up to her sister Serena at the Australian Open in January, gave away too much ground with a lethargic start and Vesnina closed it out 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

“When I was up three-love in the first set she was missing some easy shots. She looked tired and slow on the court,” Vesnina said of Williams.