Dementieva advances with ease at ASB Classic

Jan 8, 2009 - 11:09 AM AUCKLAND, New Zealand (Ticker) -- Elena Dementieva, the lone remaining seed at the ASB Classic, cruised into the semifinals on Thursday.

Five seeded players fell in a drama-filled second round on Wednesday and two more followed as second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki and No. 5 seed Shahar Peer were defeated in the quarterfinals.

With those departures, the top-seeded Dementieva, the 2008 Beijing Olympic gold medallist and world No. 4, is the only seed still standing and her pre-tournament favorite billing has strengthened considerably.

Yet to drop a set at this $220,000 event, Dementieva had no trouble against Israel's Peer, rolling to a 6-3, 6-1 victory in 63 minutes.

Quick to latch on to any weak shots or second serves from her opponent, the Russian was simply too powerful.

Dementieva now faces a semifinal clash with Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai, who is building quite a following in Auckland.

A runner-up to former world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport at this hardcourt event in 2008, Rezai is one step away from another finals appearance on the strength of a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Romanian Edina Gallovits.

The other semifinal features a pair of unseeded players in England's Anne Keothavong and Elena Vesnina.

The Russian Vesnina ended the hopes of sixth-seeded Nicole Vaidisova on Wednesday and proved too strong for Denmark's Wozniacki in the quarters.

In a match that consistently see-sawed both ways, Vesnina leapt out of the blocks to take the first set 6-3 but seemed to lose all composure in going down 6-0 in the second.

It seemed the momentum had swung to Wozniacki, but Vesnina showed considerable determination to find her groove again, claiming the third set 6-3 to book a spot in the final four.

She will next face Keothavong, who has followed Dementieva's lead in not dropping a set in the tournament.

Keothavong was not tested in her quarterfinal match against Japanese qualifier Ayumi Morita as she won the first set 6-0 before Morita was forced to retire with a hamstring injury.

First prize is $37,000.