Nuria & María Into Semis
Published June 01, 2010 12:00
PARIS, France - It will be a star-studded doubles final four Wednesday at the French Open, as both favored teams prevailed in the last two quarterfinals.
On the bottom half of the draw, No.2 seeds Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez will take on No.12 seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik for a spot in the final. In the only previous match-up between the teams, the Spaniards were victorious in February's Dubai final, their only Sony Ericsson WTA tour title so far this year.
Llagostera Vives and Martínez Sánchez's terrific history together is highlighted by seven Tour titles, including last year's Tour Championships, however, that success had not carried over to the majors. They had never been past the quarterfinals in their nine previous majors together, having lost in the quarters five times. However, that all changed Tuesday, as they beat Monica Niculescu and Shahar Peer, 62 64, to finally reach a Grand Slam semifinal. On top of that, they have yet to drop more than four games in a set all tournament.
As for Peschke and Srebotnik, they stayed focused despite a rain delay in the third set of their 46 62 63 defeat of Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko, thus securing a semifinal spot in their first major together. It was a disappointing result for the Bondarenkos, but they can take solace in having reached their first Tour quarterfinal so far in 2010.
Wednesday's other semifinal will see the top-seeded Williams sisters take on third-seeded Liezel Huber and Anabel Medina Garrigues in a match that will affect who is No.1 on the new doubles rankings.
Read about the different scenarios for the No.1 ranking!
