TENNIS NEWS:WORLD NUMBER one Serena Williams stepped up her bid for a third Paris Open title after reaching the semi-finals with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Emilie Loit yesterday. The American, winner in Paris in 1999 and 2003, will take on Olympic champion Elena Dementieva after the Russian saw off another Frenchwoman, Nathalie Dechy 6-3, 6-2.
Amelie Mauresmo, who was next on centre court against Poland’s Agneszka Radwanska, was the last French hope still standing following Alize Cornet’s 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 defeat by Serbian second seed Jelena Jankovic.
“It did not matter if I win or lose, I just wanted to play well,” said Williams, who at times experienced some difficulties to adjust to her left-handed opponent’s game. “She plays a funny game. But I served well.”
Williams opened a 3-0 lead and although Loit broke back, the Frenchwoman surrendered her serve again to lose the set. The second set was a stroll, the Australian Open champion eventually wrapping up victory after 66 minutes.
Jankovic produced another erratic performance as she laboured into the semi-finals. Jankovic broke twice to open a 5-2 lead but let the advantage slip through her fingers as Cornet won five games in a row to snatch the set.
A forehand error from Jankovic handed Cornet the set after 63 minutes. Cornet failed to maintain the momentum in the second set and dropped her serve in the third game.
That break was enough for Jankovic to level the contest, especially since the Frenchwoman appeared to be troubled by a shoulder injury she picked up at last months Australian Open.
Following an early exchange of breaks in the third set, Jankovic stole Cornet’s serve again in the seventh game and called a medical time out to have her blistered feet treated. It did not prevent her from wrapping up the win on her second match point when Cornet sent a backhand wide after two hours and 37 minutes.
“It was an intense match,” Jankovic said. “Physically, it was down to who would manage to stay longer on the court. There was a lot of running.”
The Serb, who made 46 unforced errors, said she was not bothered after struggling in her first three matches at the Coubertin stadium. “I was really out there, fighting,” she said. “What matters is that despite the circumstances – no hawkeye, the crowd being with her, I managed to win.”
Things went much easier for Dementieva, who broke twice in each set and was never bothered on her serve to see off world number 58 Dechy in a match that lasted just over an hour.
“I am happy because now I am more focused since the beginning of a match. I knew I had to be focused from the start today because she is an experienced player,” said Dementieva.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray reached the semi-finals of the World Indoor Tournament in Rotherdam when Marc Gicquel of France pulled out with an injury in the final set of their match yesterday.
Gicquel, who entered the main draw as a “lucky loser”, sustained a leg injury in the second game of the third set and retired one game later, handing the world number four a 7-6, 4-6, 3-0 win.
“It was quite a high-standard match with entertaining tennis and it was satisfying he created only two break chances on my serve,” second seed Murray said afterwards.
“I am happy with my game. I was hitting the ball much better than my previous two matches.”
The British player next plays Croatia’s Mario Ancic, who overcame the 2007 tournament winner, Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, 6-4, 6-2.
The Scot trails Ancic 3-1 in head-to-head meetings.
