By James Waterson Photo Credit: Natasha Peterson/Corleve
(September 22, 2011) Top-seeded Maria Kirilenko of Russia advanced to the semifinals of the Guangzhou International Women’s Open in Guangzhou, China, after she beat Tetiana Luzhanska of Ukraine 6-1, 7-5.
Kirilenko, the World No. 28, started well. She won 67 percent of her returning points and broke Luzhanska’s serve three times, while she was broken once.
The 140th-ranked Ukrainian made the match difficult in the second set, as she did a better job holding serve and she broke Kirilenko twice.
Yet she won only 47 percent of her service points, which gave Kirilenko enough of an edge to earn a third break of serve late in the set.
The Russian will play South Africa’s Chanelle Scheepers, who beat Urszula Radwanska o f Poland 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3. She has a 2-1 record against Scheepers, although the South African beat her earlier this year in Dubai.
China’s Zheng Jie found her way into the semifinal after she defeated Petra Martic of Croatia 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. She will take on Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia, who beat second-seeded Australia’s Jarmila Gajdasova 6-4, 6-3.