STANFORD, Calif. -- Serena Williams stumbled once, unable to plant her right foot. It was one of the few times she looked vulnerable Friday night. The unseeded Williams put on a clinic with precision serving and a sharp ground game to get the better of second-seeded Maria Sharapova, 6-1, 6-3, in the quarter-finals of the Bank of the West Classic. "I had a good start," Williams said. "You cant go in against the fifth-ranked player with your mind everywhere. You have to be serious. Its a great win for the hardcourt season." Playing in just her third tournament since winning Wimbledon last year, and her first on American soil since the 2009 U.S. Open, Williams looked as good as she did when she topped the rankings. "Im a better player this month than I was last month," Williams said. "Ive put in a lot of work and I hope it continues to pay off." The fifth-ranked Sharapova had eight unforced errors before she hit her first winner and the slow start cost her in the battle of former No. 1s. "It certainly wasnt my night," Sharapova said. "She was serving and hitting so well and I was extremely late in my reactions. I felt sluggish. It was a bad day but its also a reminder that I need to step up." Williams, ranked No. 169, beat Sharapova for the sixth straight time and improved to 7-2 overall against her. "I consider anybody I play to be an intense rivalry but we do have a good thing going," Williams said. "Its exciting and its good for tennis." Sharapova last defeated Williams in the finals of the 2004 WTA championships. "When I had chances to change things around I couldnt do it," Sharapova said. "Her biggest strength is her power and you dont see so much of that in the top 10. It really makes her dangerous." In doubles quarter-finals, Torontos Sharon Fichman and Marie-Eve Pelletier of Repentigny, Que., lost to Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond of the United States 6-2, 6-4. Germanys Sabine Lisicki knocked off her second straight seeded opponent, beating fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-2. She will meet Williams in the semifinals. Lisicki was a semifinalist at Wimbledon and has improved her ranking to 26th after being No. 218 in March. "Im looking forward to the match," Lisicki said. "I love competing in the big matches. I have nothing to lose." Sharapova beat Lisicki in the semis at Wimbledon. "Coming from grass to hardcourt is always a challenge," Lisicki said. "It comes down to who plays the best that given day." Last year, Lisicki missed five months with a left ankle injury. She says she has more endurance now than before her injury. "Im much better than I was before the injury," she said. "Ive had to focus on so many aspects of my game. Last year I couldnt even walk. Now I feel I can rely on my serve when I need it at crucial moments." Lisicki recorded 14 aces to Radwanskas seven. The 14th-ranked Radwanska was a semifinalist at Stanford last year. Shes still looking for her first tour title since 2008. Third-seeded Marion Bartoli of France advanced when Japans Ayumi Morita retired after dropping the first set 6-1. Bartoli will meet eighth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, who beat qualifier Marina Erakovic 6-1, 6-1. The 20th-ranked Cibulkova, looking for her first tour title, reached her second semifinal of the year. "I was pretty solid the whole match," Cibulkova said. "I hope to keep playing at this level." Cheap Manchester City Jerseys . The Nashville Predators needed a little extra time to stretch their run to five. David Legwand scored the only shootout goal, Pekka Rinne finished with 39 saves and the Predators beat the St. Cheap MLB Jerseys . Mathieu, who was injured throughout 2011, edged the key points with the third-seeded Wawrinka converting just two of nine break chances in the second-round match. A former top-20 player, Mathieu is ranked No. wholesale jerseys . The win moved the defending champions ahead of Canada atop Group H in round-robin play. Finland, which plays Canada on Friday, joined Sweden and Russia as the only teams undefeated in regulation at the tournament. jerseys from china . -- Blaine Gabbert is a sideline spectator again.The Winnipeg Jets conclude a three-game homestand at MTS Centre with a 2pm ct face off this afternoon against the Dallas Stars. Winnipeg is 0-1-1 through the first two games this week falling to St. Louis and losing in a shootout to Colorado. The Jets are 0-2-2 in their last five games on home ice. The Jets (14-14-5) and Stars (14-11-5) both have 33 points, however Dallas is in fifth place due to the fact they have three games in hand on seventh place Winnipeg. Both teams have struggled with games inside their Central Division this season. The Jets have won just three games while Dallas has two. Winnipeg has the 28th ranked power play in the NHL at 12.5 per cent, despite scoring three goals in their last two games. Dallas power play is 30th at 10.5 per cent. Neither team held a pregame skate this morning due to the early start. Ondrej Pavelec (10-12-4, 2.73, .912) is expected to start in goal for the Jets. Evander Kane, who has missed the last fivve games due to a lower body injury, practiced yesterday and it will not be known until warm up if he will play today.dddddddddddd Bryan Little is the lone Jet who has points in consecutive games (one goal, one assist). Today is Mark Stuarts 450th career NHL game. Dallas enters this game having lost their last two by a combined score of 9-3. Kari Lehtonen (11-7-5, 2.42, .921) is expected to start in goal for Dallas. It will be his 200th game as a member of the Stars. His lifetime record against Atlanta/Winnipeg is 2-0-1, with a 0.75 goals against average and .978 save percentage. Today is the third of five games between these two teams this season. Dallas were 4-1 winners at MTS Centre October 11th, while the Jets won in Texas 2-1 15 days later. Tyler Seguin had two goals and two assists in those games. Following todays game, the Jets fly to Columbus tomorrow and play the Blue Jackets Monday (6:00 on TSN 1290 / TSN Jets). cheap jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' '