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Chan loses to Hantuchova in Sunfeast quarter-finals
PAINFUL LOSS:
Taiwan's No.1 women's tennis player struggled with a back problem during her defeat in a quarter-final clash in Kolkata on Friday
AP AND AFP, KOLKATA, INDIA
Sunday, Sep 23, 2007, Page 22
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Taiwan's Chan Yung-jan plays a shot against Daniela Hantuchova during their quarter-final match at the Sunfeast Open in Kolkata, India, on Friday.
PHOTO: AFP
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Second-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia defeated Taiwan's eighth-seeded Chan Yung-jan 6-4, 6-1 on Friday to enter the semi-finals of the WTA Tour's Sunfeast Open.
Hantuchova was due to play fourth-seeded Maria Kirilenko of Russia in yesterday's semifinal.
The other semi-final was to feature two unseeded players in Ukraine's Mariya Koryttseva and Anne Keothavong of Britain.
Koryttseva defeated Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus 6-4, 6-2 in her quarter-final, while Keothavong outplayed Israel's Tzipora Obziler 6-1, 6-3.
Chan took the lead two times in the opening set when she effected service breaks in the third and seventh games, but Hantuchova drew parity by breaking back in the sixth and eight games.
Hantuchova clinched the first set with a third successive break in the 10th game.
Chan struggled with her fitness in the second set and was forced to take a medical time out because of back pain. On resumption, Hantuchova broke Chan's service in the fourth and sixth games to secure her semi-final place.
Kirilenko sailed into the semi-finals with a 6-3, 6-1 win against Italy's Flavia Pennetta.
Kirilenko and Pennetta traded early service breaks before Kirilenko claimed the first set by forcing another break in the eighth game.
The second set saw Penetta's game fall apart as she continued to struggle with her service.
Poutchek played an unusually subdued game in contrast to the fast pace that marked her game in the first two rounds.
The Belarussian got the first break in the first game but Koryttseva broke back in the fourth and eighth to go 5-3 up.
Poutchek fought back to break in the ninth, but Koryttseva won the 10th to wrap up the set 6-4.
Koryttseva won five games in a row in the second set after Poutchek broke her in the first game. Poutchek broke again in the seventh, but Koryttseva struck back in the 10th to win the set 6-2.
For British player Keothavong, it turned out to be a memorable outing as she advanced to her first-ever semi-final on the WTA tour.
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