NOTTINGHAM, England, 19 June 2004 — Top seed Paradorn Srichaphan reached his first final on grass by beating Robin Soderling in the Nottingham Open yesterday as the tournament’s climax fell foul of the weather. The Thai world No. 14 overcame the young Swede 6-2, 6-2 in just 49 minutes amid the showers.

The start of the match was delayed twice. Taylor Dent and Thomas Johansson played just two points in the second semifinal before the weather intervened. Srichaphan said: “We were warming up twice and it’s nice to finally get it done. It’s always in the back of your mind that it might rain and I was thinking ‘Oh no, not now’ when I served for the match.

“I rushed the first point but managed to win the next four and I’m pleased to get through. I felt like I moved really well and I’m hitting the ball well, and getting the first break of serve in the first set was the key, it gave me a lot of confidence.”

Srichaphan is seeded 13 for the Wimbledon Championships which start next Monday and will play the Croatian Ivo Karlovic. He reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year before losing to Andy Roddick and beat Andre Agassi the year before. Soderling was a qualifier at Wimbledon last year and went on to reach the third round but he struggled in the blustery conditions. The world No. 44 dropped his opening two service games to go 3-0 down. He then broke back to 3-2 but lost the next three games and the first set.

Srichaphan again took a 3-0 lead in the second set and served an ace on match point as the rain began to threaten again.

Taylor Dent of the United States had to battle his way into the semifinals on the back of two tie-breaks in beating Victory Hanescu 5-7, 7-6 (7 2), 7-6 (9 7).

The world No. 32 had already lost the first set to the Romanian 7-5 and was poised at 5-5 when rain stopped play on Thursday evening. The sixth seed faces Sweden’s Thomas Johansson after the former Australian champion beat Britain’s Greg Rusedski in the quarter-finals.

Hantuchova Ousts Mauresmo on Eastbourne Grass

Daniela Hantuchova put the dark days behind her yesterday to upset top seed Amelie Mauresmo 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 at the Eastbourne International and reach her first final since October 2002. Once ranked as high as No. 5 but now wallowing at 54, the Slovak suffered a torrid 2003 as her skeletal appearance prompted concerns about her diet and health. But yesterday, as seagulls wheeled overhead, the 21-year-old’s smile was broad and bright after her triumph against the French world No. 4. She will face Svetlana Kuznetsova in today’s final. The second-seeded 18-year-old put out fellow Russian teenager Vera Zvonareva 3-6, 7-6, 6-1 in the other semifinal on the South Coast.

Hantuchova has put on more than a stone in weight since last year and she put the extra power to good use, leaning into her serves and keeping Mauresmo on the back foot in the early stages.

She chased down a Mauresmo drop shot in the ninth game to show she has lost none of her pace and then slammed her second ace of the match.

An accomplished doubles player, Hantuchova is adept at the net and attacked whenever possible but Mauresmo too is aggressive on grass and always looked to take the initiative away from the Slovak. As nerves began to take hold, Mauresmo piled on the pressure and a sliced return gave the Frenchwoman a break point which she converted with a miss-hit backhand drop shot.

The top seed held to take the opening set with some superb grasscourt tennis in 42 minutes. Nothing could separate the pair early in the second set and this time the Slovak kept her nerve in the latter stages.

She stayed ahead serving comfortably as the sun broke through the clouds and earned a set point at 5-4 with a whipped backhand pass.

Mauresmo saved that one but Hantuchova earned a second with a bunted backhand down the same side. This time Hantuchova snatched it when Mauresmo netted a drop volley.

Hantuchova punched her fist in the air, and skipped back to her seat, her confidence clearly boosted. The pair both struggled to hold serve in the decider. Hantuchova finally held from the south end of the court — the first to do so in the third set — to move 5-4 ahead and once again heap the pressure on Mauresmo.

The Frenchwoman crumbled under some withering returns, Hantuchova clinching victory with a lunged forehand pass down the line.

Rain Suspends Play at Ordina Open

In Den Bosch, Mary Pierce and Lina Krasnoroutskaya will have to complete their semifinal at the Ordina Open today after rain suspended play yesterday. The players were tied at 2-2 in the first set when they were forced off court for the second and final time yesterday.

The winner will meet unseeded Czech Klara Koukalova, who reached the final after Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues had to retire with a left abdominal strain. Garrigues was trailing 7-5 3-0 when she quit.

Two men’s quarter-final matches also had to be postponed. Earlier in the day, France’s Michael Llodra ousted Dutchman Raemon Sluiter 6-7, 7-6, 6-3. Llodra will next meet fourth seed Tommy Robredo, who advanced by defeating fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 7-6, 6-2.