AUCKLAND, New Zealand - Li Na and Virginie Razzano may have fallen along the way but three of the five Top 20 stars who started at the ASB Classic are still alive, with Flavia Pennetta, Yanina Wickmayer and Francesca Schiavone all reaching the $220,000 tournament's semifinals Thursday.
Wickmayer, ranked No.16 in the world and the No.3 seed in Auckland, was the first of the trio to advance, dismissing Kimiko Date Krumm, 62 62. Date Krumm, ranked No.69 and a wildcard into the draw, was responsible for No.5 seed Razzano's exit in the second round on Wednesday.
Pennetta, ranked No.12 and seeded No.1 here, followed with a 61 62 rout of Dominika Cibulkova. It was Pennetta's third straight victory against the feisty Slovak and was no contest, as the Italian broke serve three times without facing even a single break point herself. She is now 3-1 lifetime against the Slovak.
Schiavone, ranked No.17 and seeded No.4, beat Alizé Cornet in the feature night match, 62 63. The first match of the day saw Shahar Peer beat Maria Kirilenko in the only match between unseeded players, 60 36 61.
Check out photos from Auckland in the Auckland Gallery!
Friday's semifinals at the ASB Classic will see Pennetta face Schiavone and Wickmayer face Peer. The final will take place on Saturday.
