Schiavone, Kanepi, Knapp, Meusburger advance to semifinals
BAD GASTEIN, Austria -- Top-seeded Francesca Schiavone defeated Agnes Szavay 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-4 on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Gastein Ladies.
Schiavone will face fourth-seeded Kaia Kanepi, who defeated Renata Voracova 6-4, 3-6, 6-0.
In the other semifinal, seventh-seeded Karin Knapp will play Yvonne Meusburger.
Knapp rallied to beat Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-1, and Meusburger ousted eighth-seeded Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain 6-1, 6-4.
The 82nd-ranked Meusburger dropped only four points on her serve in the first set.
The sixth-seeded Szavay, who won the WTA Tour event in Palermo last week, led 3-0 in the first set when heavy rainfall interrupted the match for three hours.
When play resumed, Schiavone quickly pulled even at 3-3 and won the first set in a tiebreak. In the second, Szavay saved six break points and converted two of her own to take the set.
Schiavone dominated the third for her first win over Szavay in three matches.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
