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Unseeded Italians Into Home Palermo Semis
Posted on July 22, 2006
PALERMO, Italy -- Two unseeded Italians square off against each other in one semifinal of the $145,000 Internazionali Femminili di Palermo while two top seeds battle in the second semifinal.
Wildcard Tathiana Garbin will face Roberta Vinci in the top half semifinal. Garbin cruised to a 62 64 victory over Germany's Julia Schruff to advance to her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour semifinal since 2005 Modena, when she finished runner-up after being forced to retire in the first set due to heat illness.
Vinci spent a bit more time on the court than her eventual opponent, needing three sets to advance past qualifier Aravane Rezai, 63 57 61. Vinci is making her first semifinal appearance in over a year, the last being 2005 Eastbourne, where as a qualifier she surpassed expectations and recorded some of her career best wins, including topping No.4 seed Anastasia Myskina and No.5 seed Vera Zvonareva.
Second seed Anabel Medina Garrigues will face No.4 seed Lucie Safarova in the second semifinal.
World No.23 Medina Garrigues has ruled this red clay court event in her eight-year career. The Spaniard won her first title here five years ago, made the semifinals in 2003 and added two more crowns in 2004 and 2005. Since losing her semifinal match to Katarina Srebotnik in 2003, she has managed to win 12 consecutive matches here without dropping a set. Her semifinal opponent on Saturday will be No.4 seed Lucie Safarova, a 64 64 winner over Lucky Loser Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.
Safarova will be making her third semifinal appearance this season and first since Amelia Island in April. She began the season in fine fashion, winning her third Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title at Gold Coast, taking down four top seeds along the way. She is looking for her first title win since that impressive run.
In doubles, the qualifying team of Alice Canepa and Giulia Gabba of Italy meet unseeded Janette Husarova and Michaella Krajicek. Canepa/Gabba are looking to win their first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour doubles title separately and as a team while Husarova looks to win her 20th career doubles title (first since 2005 Tokyo [Pan Pacific]) and Krajicek her first.
-- WTA
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