LONG ISLAND, New York, 24 August 2003 — Younes El Aynaoui battled his way to a 7-6, 6-4 upset victory over second seed Gustavo Kuerten to move into the semifinals of the TD Waterhouse Cup on Friday.

Joining the Moroccan in the last four is defending champion and top seed Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand, who cruised to a 6-4, 6-3 victory over American qualifier Jeff Morrison.

El Aynaoui, the No. 7 seed, ran off 16 straight points on his own serve at one point to oust the three-time French Open champion from the final warm-up event for the US Open.

His next opponent is American James Blake, who will be looking for his second career title after rallying to defeat Finland’s Jarrko Nieminen 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to secure his place in the semifinals.

Surprisingly, Paradorn had lost his previous two matches against Morrison but had little difficulty with him this time, setting up a last-four showdown with Nicolas Kiefer of Germany.

Kiefer, a wild card entry, had a commanding 6-1, 3-0 lead over Juan Ignacio Chela when the Argentine retired from the match with a stomach ailment.

Davenport, Capriati to Meet in New Haven Final

In New Haven, Connecticut, top seed Lindsay Davenport will face third seeded Jennifer Capriati in an All-American final at the Pilot Pen event after both players enjoyed comfortable victories on Friday. Davenport cruised to victory over unseeded Russian Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-2 and Capriati advanced to her third final of the year when second seed Amelie Mauresmo of France retired complaining of food poisoning when trailing 6-3, 3-1.

Davenport took her match in just 68 minutes, a relief, perhaps, for both players with the on-court temperature measured at a blistering 56 degrees Celsius (133 F).

“That was hot,” the American said. “I don’t remember too many times where I’ve sweated like that and had problems holding on (to my racket). I was trying to stay concentrated and just do what I needed to do to get it over with.”

Capriati’s service games were equally effective, and only once did she give up more than one point. That came when she led 4-2 after Mauresmo had double-faulted to drop her own serve in the fourth game.

The American held off two break points before going on to take the set, and she earned a break for 2-1 in the second when she hit a magnificent crosscourt backhand volley at the net and Mauresmo netted a forehand.

Mauresmo then called for the trainer, and after barely competing in the next game she conceded the match. It is the third time this year the Frenchwoman has either retired from or defaulted a match.

“It’s a food infection, bad stomach. It happened yesterday morning, then got worse today,” Mauresmo said.

Venus Williams Pulls Out of US Open

Meanwhile, two-time champion Venus Williams has pulled out of next week’s US Open because of a stomach muscle injury, leaving the year’s final Grand Slam tournament without both Williams sisters.

Defending champion Serena, who beat elder sister Venus in last year’s final, withdrew after having left knee surgery and will be out for up to two months. Neither sister has played a match since Serena beat Venus in the Wimbledon final on July 5.

Venus Williams won the event in 2000 and 2001 and was among the favorites for this year’s tournament where she was seeded fourth. Fifth-ranked Venus has lost to Serena in the final of five of the past six Grand Slams, a streak that began at the 2002 French Open.

The only time the sisters did not meet in a Grand Slam final was during this year’s French Open, when Serena lost to eventual champion Justine Henin-Hardenne in the semifinals. Belgian Kim Clijsters last week overtook Serena as the world No. 1, and will be the top seed in Flushing Meadows ahead of compatriot Henin-Hardenne.