DEN BOSCH, Netherlands, 18 June 2005 — Australian wildcard Mark Philippoussis continued his renaissance by beating Italian Davide Sanguinetti 7-6, 7-6 yesterday to reach the semifinals of the Ordina Open.
In overcast, breezy conditions, the 2003 Wimbledon runner-up recovered from 5-2 down in the second set to advance to his first semifinal since Sept. 2003.
Philippoussis, who has slipped to 188 in the rankings after a series of injuries, now plays defending champion Michael Llodra of France.
Llodra went through with a 6-2 6-7 6-3 triumph over German Lars Burgsmueller.
Having taken the first-set tiebreak 7-2, Philippoussis broke serve in the opening game of the second before dropping his own serve twice as the unseeded Sanguinetti forged 5-2 ahead. Unseeded Czech Jan Hernych booked his place in the last four with a 7-6 6-2 victory over German Philipp Kohlschreiber. Hernych will meet third seed Mario Ancic of Croatia or unseeded Swede Jonas Bjorkman. Klara Koukalova and Lucie Safarova will contest an all-Czech women’s final after both players recorded straight-sets victories. Eighth seed Koukalova reached the final for the second consecutive year by defeating American Meghann Shaughnessy 6-1 7-5. Unseeded Safarova saw off sixth seed Gisela Dulko of Argentina 6-3 6-3.
Clijsters to Meet Douchevina in Eastbourne Final
In Eastbourne, England, former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters put friendship aside to beat defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 yesterday to reach the final of the Eastbourne WTA tournament.
The two women are good friends and regular practice partners off court. On the grass at Devonshire Park, however, each did her best to pound the other into submission.
Seventh seed Clijsters, who missed most of last year with a wrist injury and has dropped to 17th in the world, will play Russian qualifier Vera Douchevina in Saturday’s final. Douchevina, who knocked out top-seeded Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo in the second round, beat fellow qualifier Roberta Vinci of Italy 2-6 7-6 6-3 in the second semifinal.
In Nottingham, England, French teenager Richard Gasquet reached his third ATP final and his first on grass with a 6-4, 6-2 semifinal win over fifth seed Taylor Dent at the Nottingham Open yesterday.
Gasquet’s performance this week will make him his country’s number one, overtaking Sebastien Grosjean, when the new rankings are released on Monday, the opening day of Wimbledon. Gasquet, who turns 19 on Saturday, broke Dent in the opening game after the American serve-volley specialist double-faulted for the second time.
