Anastasia Myskina © Getty Images

Mauresmo, Henin-Hardenne, Clijsters, Myskina Through to Semis

August 19, 2005 - Defending champion and No. 2 seed Amelie Mauresmo advanced to the semis 4-6, 7-5, 2- 0 when Russian Nadia Petrova retired because of chest strain.. The match, which started in the afternoon, was interrupted for almost four hours by torrential rains which flooded Centre Court.

By the time the players took to the court again, it was under completely different conditions. ?It was pretty strange,? said Mauresmo.

?We had to wait the whole day and then we came back at night.? The 26-year-old Mauresmo who had lost the first set suddenly turned on the on the jets when she was down 4-3 in the second and reversed the tide of the match. ?I was able to come back. I'm pretty happy about that.?

In the last match of the day, No. 4 seed Justine Henin-Hardenne squeaked by 16-year-old Czech phenom Nicole Vaidisova 7-5, 7-6(4). The 2005 French Open winner was pressed by the lanky youngster throughout the match. Henin-Hardenne now plays defending champion Mauresmo in the semifinals.

Belgium's Kim Clijsters steamrolled over Italy's Flavia Pennetta 6-0, 6-1 in the second quarterfinal of the day. The No. 7 seed, now the hottest player on tour with five titles this season, simply overpowered the No. 14 seed Panetta with a series of deep groundstrokes and blistering serves. Clijsters now meets No. 9 seed Anastasia Myskina, the 2004 French Open champ, in the semifinals tomorrow.

In an earlier quarter-final, Myskina was forced to dig deep in beating Argentinian Gisela Dulko 6-4, 7-5.

After spraining her left ankle in the third round Thursday, the Russian Myskina came on court wearing an air cast. After the match, Myskina said she was receiving daily treatment on her ankle and it was getting better.

Although she managed to cover a lot of ground in the match, she admitted she had problems getting to some shots.

?I had trouble with drop shots,? said Myskina. ?I don't know why Gisela didn't hit more.?

The stars of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour will debut at the world class Rexall Centre in Toronto as part of the Rogers Cup, presented by American Express, August 13–21st. Purchase your tickets online or call 1-877-2-TENNIS ext. 4333.

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