Davenport, Mauresmo Advance Toward Meeting at WTA New Haven

"I think it would be wrong of me to expect that I can come out after seven or eight weeks and be perfect," said Davenport, getting some match play under her belt after a long layoff due to a back injury. "So there's always going to be aspects of my game that need to be worked on and stuff that you can really only get from playing matches. And that's like hitting a good serve and getting ready for the ball to come back."

Also into the semis were two unseeded players in Russian Anna Chakvetadze (d. Zheng), and Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues (d. (4) Dementieva).

"It was difficult for me to play at ten o'clock," Dementieva said. "But I have to say she was playing unbelievably well today. I was always down during the match. She didn't give me any easy points so I was fighting for every single ball."

Friday's schedule in New Haven is Medina Garrigues vs. Mauresmo, and Davenport vs. Chakvetadze.

With a win Friday, Davenport will re-take the No. 1 ranking from Maria Sharapova.

"Didn't know that. Not important," Davenport said. "We'll settle it once and for all at the end of the year."