SEOUL, South Korea - The semifinal line-up has been determined at the $220,000 Hansol Korea Open, with No.2 Anabel Medina Garrigues the sole seed to reach her appointed slot. Defending champion Maria Kirilenko and Anna-Lena Groenefeld also won through, along with revitalized veteran Kimiko Date Krumm, who shocked top seed Daniela Hantuchova.
First to book her place in the final four was Groenefeld, who appeared to be on course for a storming victory over Chinese Taipei's Chan Yung-Jan, but was forced to work very hard in the end. Having dished out a bagel in the first set the powerful German managed to win just one point on serve in the second, but she came through in the more even-handed decider, 60 26 75.
Next up was Kirilenko, who recovered from 3-0 and then 5-2 down to steal the first set from fellow Russian Vera Dushevina. The second set was equally tight, with Kirilenko holding two match points on serve at 5-4, only to be broken and forced to a tie-break by the No.7 seed. But the 22-year-old held her nerve, finally closing the match out on her fourth match point, 75 76(5).
"In the first set I was a little bit surprised that I came back, because she played so good in the beginning," said Kirilenko, who went into the match with a 0-3 record against Dushevina. "I thought I didn't have so much chance, you know. But then I hit some winners and I tried to enjoy the game more and things started to go my way.
"But it was quite a nervous tie-break," she laughed.
Kirilenko's surprise opponent in the semis will be Date Krumm, who recovered from a slow start to upset Hantuchova - her second Top 30 win in a row.
Having built a 5-1 lead Hantuchova twice served for the opening set but was unable to hold her nerve, allowing the Japanese veteran to claw her way back to take it in a tie-break. The top seed regained her equilibrium to take a tight second set, fending off a break point when serving to force the decider, but once there it was Date Krumm who took back the momentum with a break for 3-1.
Although Hantuchova recovered that deficit, and a second break two games later, the 26-year-old lost her serve again and succumbed on Date Krumm's third match point, 76(3) 46 64.
The final match of the day saw Medina Garrigues ease past Magdalena Rybarikova in straight sets, 63 63. The Spanish world No.22 plays Groenefeld in the semis.
In a doubles semifinal, the unseeded duo of recent US mixed champion Carly Gullickson and Australian Nicole Kriz dispatched No.3 seeds Alisa Kleybanova and Ekaterina Makarova. Second-seeded Chuang Chia-Jung and Yan Zi play Chan and Abigail Spears in the other semi on Saturday.
