Davenport and Hantuchova reach semis
Lindsay Davenport is two wins away from successfully defending her title at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
The top seed from the United States, Davenport overcame a poor second set to defeat No. 8 Anastasia Myskina of Russia, 6-2 3-6 6-1, on Friday in the quarter-finals of the 650,000 Tier II hardcourt event.
Davenport will face unseeded Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova in Saturday's semi-finals. Hantuchova downed Italian Flavia Pennetta, 6-3 6-4.
Hantuchova has yet to drop a set in three matches this week, including a second-round upset of No. 7 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland.
In the other two quarter-finals Friday, No. 2 Kim Clijsters of Belgium was facing No.5 Elena Dementieva of Russia and No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo of France was to play sixth-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova.
In Thursday's second round, Mauresmo held a 6-0 lead over Jelena Jankovic when the Serbian retired with a viral illness.
Petrova advanced with a 6-1 6-1 rout of countrywoman Elena Likhovtseva in just 55 minutes.
A finalist here last year, Mauresmo has won two titles and is 46-13 this year.
Clijsters is coming off her fourth consecutive title in Luxembourg on Sunday, a spurt that also included winning the US Open for her first career Grand Slam title.
She has won 22 straight matches and is 61-6 this season.
The 22-year-old Clijsters is seeking her ninth title in just 14 events this season.
She has won seven straight matches against Dementieva after dropping their first encounter.
