Dementieva reaches Luxembourg semis

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:07

Dementieva will be making her WTA-leading 11th semi-final appearance when she clashes with eighth seed Sorana Cirstea of Romania on Saturday.

While she boasts an 11-4 quarter-final record this season, things have not gone quite as well for the 27-year-old in the round of four, where she is 4-6.

Nonetheless, the fifth-ranked Dementieva is enjoying a career season with 52 wins, two titles – including a gold medal at the Olympics – and semi-final appearances at Wimbledon and the US Open.

Mauresmo, a former number one and two-time grand slam champion, faded quickly in the second set of this encounter, which lasted just under an hour.

Unlike her quarter-final match, Dementieva will have the overwhelming edge in experience when she faces Cirstea – a 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 winner against third-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.

Cirstea, 18, is enjoying a breakthrough season and is making her first main draw appearance since claiming her maiden title earlier this month at the Tier IV Tashkent event.

Another rising star has reached the semi-finals in the bottom of the draw as fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki moved through with a 6-1 7-6 (9/7) win over number seven Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain.

The 18-year-old Dane has claimed three titles this season and risen to 16th in the rankings.

Awaiting her in the semis is sixth-seeded Li Na, a 6-4 4-6 6-2 winner against Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic.

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