Cornet reaches Strasbourg semis

May 23, 2013 - 7:50 PM Strasbourg, France (Sports Network) - Last year's runner-up Alize Cornet pulled within a victory of reaching a second straight final at the $235,000 Strasbourg International tennis event, a final clay-court French Open tune-up.

The third-seeded French crowd favorite whipped seventh-seeded South African Chanelle Scheepers 6-3, 6-1 on another rainy day at Strasbourg Tennis Club.

Cornet, who lost to former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone in last year's Strasbourg finale, will encounter 91st-ranked rising Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in Friday's semifinals, as the 19-year-old Bouchard blitzed Georgian Anna Tatishvili 6-3, 6-2 in quarterfinal action.

Two other quarterfinals were postponed because of inclement weather. Italian qualifier Flavia Pennetta will face Japan's Misaki Doi and Czech Lucie Hradecka will battle Swede Johanna Larsson before the semis can be staged here on Friday. Hradecka was a Strasbourg runner-up in 2009.

The 2013 Strasbourg champion will collect $41,000.