Tamarine dumps Safina in straight sets
DEN BOSCH, Netherlands -- Defending champion Tamarine Tanasugarn upset top-ranked Dinara Safina 7-5, 7-5 Friday in the semifinals of the Ordina Open.
Tamarine, who beat Safina in last year's final, will play Belgian teenager Yanina Wickmayer on Saturday. Wickmayer overcame a swirling wind and match-point jitters to defeat Francesca Schiavone 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3.
"Safina is very good," Tamarine said. "It was a really difficult match because of the wind."
Need the scores from any match played in today's tournaments? In the men's draw, qualifier Benjamin Becker rallied to beat fourth-seeded Rainer Schuettler 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 in an all-German semifinal. He will play Raemon Sluiter of the Netherlands, who defeated Ivan Navarro of Spain 6-7 (5) 6-2, 6-3.
Schuettler served for the match at 5-3 in the second set, but Becker broke him twice before sweeping through the final set.
After breaking Schiavone with a powerful forehand winner in the eighth game of the final set, Wickmayer squandered three match points -- including a double-fault and missing an easy volley at the net -- before the Italian hit a backhand service return long.
"I was a bit nervous," the 19-year-old Wickmayer said. "In the end, I was a bit lucky."
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
