The talented Russian teenagers keep coming, and Kim Clijsters sends them away with punishing ground strokes and post-victory kisses on each cheek.
Clijsters defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the JP Morgan Chase Open on Friday, putting the Belgian two victories away from overtaking injured Serena Williams as the world's top-ranked woman.
Clijsters outlasted Maria Sharapova 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 Thursday, then pronounced the 16-year-old Russian "an incredible player. She can go all the way. It's just a matter of being consistent."
PHOTO: REUTERS
That wasn't a problem for Clijsters, who won nine straight games over the first and second sets to put away Kuznetsova, an 18-year-old best known as Martina Navratilova's doubles partner.
"Kim plays so consistently, which makes it so hard to play her," Kuznetsova said. "She's one of the best players because of that. Other players aren't as consistent. They go up and down, but Kim doesn't do that.''
The top-seeded Clijsters advanced to Saturday's semifinals against No. 16 Francesca Schiavone of Italy, who beat qualifier Nicole Pratt 6-2, 6-3. Clijsters will become No. 1 for the first time in her career if she wins the tournament.
PHOTO: AP
The other semifinal will be No. 2-seeded Lindsay Davenport vs. No. 4 Ai Sugiyama. Davenport beat No. 8 Amanda Coetzer 6-2, 6-4 at night in front of 1,943 people in the 8,000-seat stadium court. Sugiyama topped No. 6 Magdalena Maleeva 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
Sugiyama beat Davenport and Clijsters in three sets en route to winning the Scottsdale, Arizona, tournament in February.
Clijsters looked surprised when informed she could be No. 1 by Monday. She thought she had to accumulate certain bonus points to ascend -- until a WTA Tour official assured her otherwise.
"I just want to focus on my next match and then we'll see," said Clijsters, who has yet to win a Grand Slam title. "I just hope I can keep my level up and play good tennis. That will be more satisfying."
The 64-player field was weakened by the withdrawals of Williams, who had knee surgery last week, and defending champion Chanda Rubin (shoulder tendinitis).
So far this year, Clijsters has avoided the injuries that have sidelined several top players, including Venus Williams and Jennifer Capriati. She wore a wrap on her right thigh to protect a tight muscle.
Davenport, who had major knee surgery last year, broke Coetzer five times in their 58-minute match.
Serving for the match at 5-4, Davenport trailed 15-30, but got an assist from the chair umpire when he overruled and called her serve an ace. She hit a backhand winner, and then Coetzer netted a forehand to lose.
Davenport, a finalist six of the last seven years here, successfully tried some serve-and-volleying against Coetzer, who has just three wins in their 16 career meetings.
"My coach keeps bugging me to do more," Davenport said. "Sometimes I let girls get back in the point, so I was trying to move forward and put some more pressure on. I tried to take more control of my game and be patient."
Earlier, Kuznetsova lamented her missed chances in the first set, saying she didn't get to sleep until 2am.
"I couldn't concentrate, and then I didn't keep fighting," she said.
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