Chinese Wall Falls Thursday at WTA StrasbourgPosted on May 26, 2006 Three Chinese in the Strasbourg quarterfinals were cut to one Thursday when Peng Shuai became the only unseeded player to advance, defeating German Martina Muller to move into the semifinals.
On the losing end were No. 7 seed Jie Zheng who fell 6-2 in the third to No. 2 Nicole Vaidisova, and unseeded Na Li who was straight-setted by No. 8 seed Jelena Jankovic. "It was cold and raining on and off so it was a very tough match," Vaidisova said. "In the second set I tried to go for too much to finish the match but it didn't work and we ended up playing a third set. I made a lot of errors I shouldn't have, but I'm happy it ended the way it did. I'm ready to go to the end of the tournament. The more matches I play, the better I get." Defending champ and No. 4 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues was the fourth semifinalist, easing past unseeded Russian Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-4. "It was really tough conditions out there today," Medina Garrigues said. "In the second set I just had a really hard time because the balls were wet and heavy. When we changed to new balls, it was a big change in my game and I was able to finish off the match. I am motivated to do well here like last year, if I can. And I am especially motivated as the winner gets a car (a Mazda MX-5 sports car)." Medina Garrigues will face the unseeded Shuai in the semifinals on Friday, with Vaidisova meeting Jankovic. |
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