Defending Champ Smashnova Into Budapest Semis

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- It was a repeat performance by defending champion Anna Smashnova in Friday's quarterfinals, who replicated the result of last year's final against 2005 runner-up Catalina Castano, even down to the score.

No.8-seeded Smashnova, who celebrated her 30th birthday 12 days ago, advanced to her first Tour semifinal of 2006 with a 62 62 win over the top-seeded Colombian, the same score with which she won her 11th career singles title here last year.

Smashnova, who has never lost a Tour final in her career, was never troubled by Castano, seeded No.1 in a Tour event for the first time in her career.

As such, the Israeli has to like her chances in Sunday's final should she get past unseeded German Martina Muller in the semis. Smashnova might be equally confident of victory on Saturday, given the ease of her quarterfinal victory and the effort required by Muller to win hers.

Muller, the 2002 champion here, needed three hours, 10 minutes to subdue Czech qualifier Eva Birnerova, winning 76(7) 46 61.

Muller's lone Tour singles title came here at the Budapest Grand Prix four years ago. Shortly afterwards she rose to a career-high ranking of No.51, but a year later Muller's career went into somewhat of a freefall; in March 2004 she was ranked outside the Top 400.

Nonetheless, Hannover-born Muller battled on, gaining match practice and confidence on the ITF Women's Circuit. By July 2004 she returned to the Top 200, and the Top 100 in February of this year; her efforts this week could have Muller on the verge of a Top 50 ranking for the first time.

Budapest is clearly a lucky place for Muller, as she is through to her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour semifinal since that title run here in 2002. Muller has met Smashnova only once previously, in an ITF Women's Circuit event in Bordeaux in 2001; Smashnova was the victor, 76(3) 63.

Earlier, Spain's Lourdes Dominguez Lino had a much easier day at the office, outclassing unseeded Italian Romina Oprandi, 63 60. Dominguez, the No.5 seed, collected her first-ever Tour singles title earlier this year in Bogota and had reached two other quarterfinals coming into Friday's clash with the up-and-coming Oprandi.

Oprandi made a name for herself with a barnstorming run to the Rome quarterfinals in May as a qualifier, where she held match point against Svetlana Kuznetsova (the eventual Roland Garros runner-up) before falling in a third-set tie-break.

Nonetheless, Dominguez was far too steady for Oprandi, setting up a first-ever meeting with Dutch No.3 seed Michaella Krajicek. Krajicek, 17, defeated Italian qualifier Sara Errani, 64 64, to reach her fourth semifinal of 2006.

Krajicek has won two titles already in 2006 -- Hobart and 's-Hertogenbosch -- and is looking to become only the fifth player to win three or more Tour singles tiles.

It wasn't a good day for the doubles seeds, with the Top 2 bundled out on Friday. No.2 seeds Eleni Daniilidou and Jasmin Woehr lost their semifinal against Czech duo Lucie Hradecka and Renata Voracova when Woehr retired with a toe injury; Daniilidou and Woehr were trailing 64 42 at the time.

Later, Birnerova made up for her epic loss in the singles, partnering France's Stephanie Foretz to beat top seeds Iveta Benesova and Yuliana Fedak, 64 64. The unseeded Birnerova/Foretz take on No.3 seeds Janette Husarova and Krajicek -- champions last week in Palermo -- in Saturday's semifinals, with the winner meeting Hradecka/Voracova on Sunday.
-- WTA