Venus Williams returns against Peng Shuai Thursday

Former world number one women's player Venus Williams of the United States has easily advanced to the semifinals of the J.B. Group Classic exhibition tennis tournament in Hong Kong.

Williams, who has not played in a tournament since October, defeated China's Peng Shuai 6-1, 6-2 in Thursday's quarterfinals.

A six-time Grand Slam tournament winner, Williams plays Elena Dementieva of Russia, who made the final four by beating Serbia's Ana Ivanovic in three sets 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

The other semifinal is an all-Russian match between Maria Sharapova and Anna Chakvetadze.

Eight players are competing in the quarterfinal draw. The four winners advance to the J.B. Gold Group, and the four losers go into the J.B. Silver Group. Both groups will then play two semi-final matches and one final. There will be a J.B. Gold Group Champion, and a J.B. Silver Group Champion.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.