Hantuchova reaches last four

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:01

Hantuchova appeared to be well on her way to a win when she opened up a 4-0 lead to start the match, but Chan battled back to force a tie-break.

Although the 19-year-old dropped the tie-breaker, her confidence carried over into the second set, which she won before finally succumbing to the world number 11 in the decisive third set.

The runner-up at this hardcourt event last season, Hantuchova will try to clean up her game for Saturday’s semi-final showdown with unseeded Tamira Paszek, who posted the upset of the day with a 4-6 6-0 6-2 win over third seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy.

The 17-year-old Austrian also picked off number seven Sara Errani in second-round action at this Tier III hardcourt event on Thursday.

The top seeds held true on the opposite side of the draw as number two Patty Schnyder of Switzerland and fourth-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova won their quarter-final matches to set up their 12th career meeting.

Schnyder, 29, defeated unseeded pole Marta Domachowska 6-2 6-2 in 51 minutes to move within two victories of her first title since 2005.

Petrova, who captured her first title of the year last month at Cincinnati, had a somewhat more challenging match against fifth-seeded Italian Francesca Schiavone, but eventually emerged with a 6-4 6-3 win after falling behind 4-1 to start the match.

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