Luxembourg Semis Take Shape; Hantuchova Falls

Three of the four quarterfinals played at the FORTIS Championships Luxembourg on Friday went with the seedings, as Elena Dementieva, Caroline Wozniacki and Li Na won through to the final four. But No.3 seed Daniela Hantuchova's difficult season ended at the hands of recent Top 40 arrival Sorana Cirstea. 
 
Three weeks after she beat Serena Williams on her way to the quarters at Stuttgart, sixth seed Li was first to advance, at the expense of Iveta Benesova, who had upset No.2 seed Anna Chakvetadze in the second round. Although in the second set the Czech left-hander's flat groundstrokes kept her Chinese opponent on the run, Li stole back the momentum for a 64 46 62 win.
 
Her opponent in the semis will be fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki, after the 18-year-old dispatched No.7 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues in a second set tie-break, 61 76(7). It was the 100th singles win of the young Dane's career, and keeps her on track for a fourth title in as many months.
 
By contrast Hantuchova, who raced to a 5-2 lead in the first set and held set point, only to see Cirstea claw her way level and then storm through the tie-break, was left to rue lost opportunities.
 
"I started well, I think I did everything I was supposed to up to 5-2, then I lost my concentration a bit and she started to go for her shots more," said the 25-year-old Slovak, who has slipped from the Top 10 to No.15 this year after a foot stress fracture ruined a great start to the season. "In the tie-break I didn't play very well at all, and after that she saw she had a chance and it was hard to stop her.
 
"The second set was close, even though it was 6-2," Hantuchova added. "I think every game went to deuce and ad. She served well, but I think I could have been more aggressive on the second serve."
 
What was, for Hantuchova, a disappointing day at the office marked another confidence boost for 18-year-old Cirstea. "Even when I was down in the first set I felt I believed I could win it, and from that point on I started to be more focused and aggressive," said the Romanian teenager. "At 3-2 in the second I felt, OK, this is my chance to break her, so I went for my returns and it worked. From that moment I knew I could finish the match."
 
Twelve months ago Cirstea needed a wildcard to play at Luxembourg, but much has changed since then; having captured her first Tour title at Tashkent a few weeks ago, she is back as the eighth seed, for one thing.
 
"This has been my first full year on the Tour and I think I've improved so much," she said. "I've learnt to focus in the important moments but also fight for every ball throughout the match. My serve has improved a lot even in the past month, which is very important against good players like Daniela, so that they also feel the pressure while serving.
 
"It's very good to finish the season like this," Cirstea added.
 
And it's not over yet, for Cirstea's next challenge is No.1 seed Elena Dementieva, who defeated fifth seed Amélie Mauresmo in the last match of the day. Although she stumbled when serving for the first set at 5-2, the Russian Olympic champion grew ever more imperious as the match wore on, winning 64 60 in 58 minutes.
 
"She has a great defensive game," said Dementieva after improving her head-to-head with her French rival to 6-8, "so I tried to finish points at the net because I know she's very good in the long rallies. I saw some of Sorana's match; she played well, especially in the second set. I beat her last time but that was on grass. Tomorrow is going to be a very different match."
 
Cirstea also has a place in the doubles semifinals; with Marina Erakovic she is seeded fourth, and will play top seeds Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual. In the other half of the draw, Mervana Jugic-Salkic and Aurelie Vedy - who upset No.2 seeds Benesova and Peng Shuai - face third seeds Vera Dushevina and Mariya Koryttseva.

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