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Ivanovic makes semi-finals in Paris

Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova returns the ball to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus yesterday during their fourth round match at the French Open in Paris. PHOTO: AP

Ana Ivanovic of Serbia moved within one match of her third Grand Slam final by defeating Swiss veteran Patty Schnyder 6-3, 6-2 in the French Open quarter-finals yesterday.

The 20-year-old second seed lost to Justine Henin in straight sets in the final last year and to Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open final in January.

Playing in damp, overcast conditions, Ivanovic broke early to lead 2-0, but the 29-year-old 10th seed, playing in her 48th Grand Slam tournament and 13th straight at Roland Garros, hit back to level at 2-2.

Ivanovic was clearly the more powerful of the two with Schnyder looking to counter by moving the bigger woman around with her looping cross-court groundstrokes.

The Serb took the first set 6-3 and she immediately broke to love in the opening game of the second, a deft drop shot winner doing the damage on break point.

Schnyder had three break points on the Ivanovic serve in the following game, but the Serb had her back-pedaling frantically as she battled back to hold on for a 2-0 lead.

“No one from the Estonia has ever made it to the quarter-finals for women so I am very pleased about that. I have been believing in myself that I can beat the top players and I was hoping for a breakthrough sometime.”

Kaia Kanepi, Estonian tennis player

The Swiss player survived a marathon game on her following serve but two games later two poorly executed drop shots allowed Ivanovic to nail the double break.

At 4-1 up and her own serve to come there was no stopping her although she needed three match points to finish it off as the rain started to fall.

Meanwhile fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova completed a 6-2, 6-3 win over Victoria Azarenka of Belarus to earn a place in the last eight.

The tie had been held over from late on Monday with the former US Open champion a set ahead and level 2-2 in the second set against the 18-year-old former world junior champion.

She wasted little time on the resumption to earn a clash with the unseeded Kaia Kanepi of Estonia.

Kanepi made it through to her first Grand Slam quarter-final with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win over Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in another tie left unfinished on Monday.

“No one from the Estonia has ever made it to the quarter-finals for women so I am very pleased about that,” she said. “I have been believing in myself that I can beat the top players and I was hoping for a breakthrough sometime.”

The two have not played each other on the senior stage, but the Tallinn-born Kanepi will take heart from the fact that she defeated Kuznetsova in three sets to win the French Open junior girls title in 2001.
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