Dechy joins Petrova, Kirilenko in semifinals
MASON, Ohio -- Unseeded Nathalie Dechy continued her best run of the year, moving into the semifinals of the Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open by beating sixth-seeded Aleksandra Wozniak 7-6 (4), 7-5 on Friday.
Dechy will face fellow Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo, who beat Vania King 6-2, 6-4 to move into her first semifinal of the year. The two have played seven times, with fifth-seeded Mauresmo winning the last three after they split the first four.
"It's probably 9 or 10 [years old] since we've known each other," Mauresmo said. "It's always tough. It's funny to play each other in the semis here. We know each other so well, what we like and what we don't like."
Second-seeded Nadia Petrova and third-seeded Maria Kirilenko also advanced, setting up an all-Russian semifinal match between the doubles partners. Kirilenko shook off a sluggish second set to beat Sabine Lisicki 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, while Petrova sailed past unseeded Lilia Osterloh 6-2, 6-3.
Dechy, who won her only WTA Tour singles title in 2003 at the Gold Coast tournament, fought off two set points with Wozniak serving and leading 5-3 in the first set.
"I was having problems with my timing, but when I made a passing shot on a set point, I started feeling better," said Dechy, who hasn't reached a semifinal since last August's Tier IV event at Forest Hills. "I started really believing that I could do something."
Wozniak, the 20-year-old Canadian who won the Tier II Stanford tournament in July, believed the 29-year-old Dechy's experience was the difference.
"I was up 5-3 in the first set and I lost my serve and then she won her serve and it was 5-5, and then we're in a tiebreaker, where anything can happen," Wozniak said. "If I would have had a little more focus, I could have held serve and won the first set 6-3, but she has a lot of experience. She was battling for every point, even when she was down 5-2."
The third-seeded Kirilenko, who won her only previous match against Lisicki in straight sets, won the last four games of the first set and appeared to be in control. The unseeded Lisicki responded by breaking Kirilenko in the first game of the second set and winning the next three, prompting a frustrated Kirilenko to throw her racquet to the court after one point. Lisicki finished the set by breaking Kirilenko at love.
Kirilenko took a locker-room break before the third set, which she said helped her regain her concentration.
"It helped calm me down," Kirilenko said. "I decided to just focus on every point, and I started feeling better."
The players combined for three service breaks to open the third set before Kirilenko held while winning the last five games, closing out the match with a forehand overhead and pumping her right fist twice.
Lusicki said she had problems with her left ankle, which she turned during her win over Anna Tatishvili in the first round.
"I was able to play my game in the second set, and I guess she had trouble with it," Lusicki said. "I was fighting it. It still hurts. I'll have to get treatment on it and get ready for the [U.S.] Open."
Petrova hasn't lost a set in four career matches against Osterloh.
"I think this was my easiest match against her, but I didn't exactly play my best," Petrova said. "My returns weren't working well and I had a little problem with concentration."
Kirilenko and Petrova have played each other five times. Kirilenko has won the last three matches against Petrova, the last two on clay, and Petrova won the first two, both on hardcourts.
"I'm looking forward to getting some revenge on a different surface," Petrova said. "I can't wait until [Saturday]."
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
