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The top women power into the semis

By Peter Sorel-Cameron
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(CNN) -- On day 10 the quarterfinals began, the big names came out in force and the quality of tennis stepped up a notch.

The day got off to a flying start with the ladies, who, with one exception, had made it to this point, keeping to the form of seeding, meaning that the last eight was made up of players from the top nine seeds -- only Amélie Mauresmo had fallen by the wayside.

This meant that every match was set to be a clash of the titans, and with such a thin margin in terms of skill among the top echelon of players in the women's game, no-one was guaranteed an easy ride.

The highlight of the day was women's number one, and reigning champion Justine Hénin against 2002 champ and winner of the 2007 Australian Open, Serena Williams, seeded eighth.

The pair had met in the tournament before, in the semifinal of the 2003 Roland Garros, when Hénin won on her way to her first French Open win. The tie had been marred by some contentious line-calls and had resulted in high emotions on both sides.

The Belgian started the quarterfinal tie strongly, breaking her opponent in the opening game, but after this, the two seemed fairly evenly matched, neither managing to break serve, and Hénin took the first set 6-4.

The second set got off to a similar start, with a viciously fought opening game, that saw the world number one break Williams' serve, and, save for a few more breaks it seemed to be plain sailing for Hénin.

The world number one sailed through the final few games and claimed the match 6-4 6-3, passing her rival with apparent ease.

It is possible to say that Hénin has now removed her biggest obstacle this year, with Serena in the ascendancy at the moment -- now that she is out the reigning champion seems even more likely to retain the title.

Her form in this and all other matches at this event -- this match takes her to 31 sets unbeaten in a row at Roland Garros -- suggests that she is the one to beat, and there are fewer names left in it that are capable of doing that.

Other ties of the day saw something of an upset as third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova went out at the hands of 19-year old Ana Ivanovic, seeded seventh.

The young Serbian is a rising star in the women's circuit and has quickly made her way into the top 10 in the world with results in major competitions, including making the French Open quarterfinals in 2005.

Kuznetsova was expected to challenge the top pair at this year's event, but in her quarterfinal match seemed to be playing at less than 100 per cent, failing to win a game in the opening set.

The second set saw the number three seed liven up a bit, and she broke her opponent's serve twice in order to force the match into a third and final set, suggesting more of a contest than the first six games had given.

In the last set, though, Kuznetsova reverted to the way she had played in the opening set, and her opponent pushed through, taking the last set, winning the match 6-0 3-6 6-1.

From the match it was hard to tell whether Ivanovic's game is good enough to earn her a place in the final, simply because Kuznetsova seemed to be paying at half speed, but the youngster, now in her first Grand Slam semifinal, is certainly capable of some great tennis.

Her opponent in the semifinal tie will be number two Maria Sharapova who also played a quarterfinal match today, in an all-Russian tie against the number nine seed Anna Chakvetadze.

Sharapova took the opening set 6-3, following an early break of service, and, although it was close, the number two seed looked in control for the first 40 minutes.

The second set was closer and the two players stayed neck-and-neck for the majority of it, with Sharapova breaking the deadlock late on, taking the lead at 5-4, and serving for the match.

In the end Sharapova's power and skill shone through, as she won the match 6-3 6-4, and moved, with apparent ease, into the last four of the tournament.

With Serena Williams out it would seem that she is the biggest threat to Hénin this year, and she is looking strong enough to rattle the world number one, but her best may not be good enough.

The other tie of the day saw fourth seed Jelena Jankovic beat the number six seed, the Czech Republic's Nicole Vaidisova in straight sets.

After losing the first set, Vaidisova managed to rally herself and overturn a break late in the second, to make the final seem less than certain.

However, 22-year old Jankovic immediately broke back and simply had to hold her serve to take her place in the last four, which she sis, winning the match 6-3 7-5.

Jankovic is the second Serbian into the semifinal stage of the tournament this year, and in the men's event her compatriot Novak Djokovic is aiming to make it a big year for the eastern European nation.

Jankovic will face Hénin in her semifinal match, and the last four in the women's event have been decided on, with Sharapova facing the youngster of the group, Ivanovic.

In the men's event, number one Roger Federer made an appearance against number nine seed Tommy Robredo, and instantly stamped his authority on the match, breaking his opponent's serve in the opening game and took the first set 7-5.

The beginning of the second set saw Robredo break the top seed's serve to go 3-0 up, and the Spaniard looked to be taking control of the set, as Federer started to make a series of uncharacteristic mistakes, conceding set two 1-6.

After this, though, Federer turned up the pressure and broke his opponent several times, running away with the third and fourth sets in a commanding fashion, winning the match 7-5 1-6 6-1 6-2.

Although it was an impressive performance, the glitch of the second set -- the first set he has dropped at this year's event -- may prove that he is not unbeatable, and will give his future opponents hope of victory.

The next man to play Federer was decided in the other men's tie of the day, which saw fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko face seed 19, Argentina's Guillermo Canas.

Two of the toughest competitors in the tournament neither Canas, who is returning from a doping ban with incredible form, nor Davydenko were going to give up a place in the semifinals easily.

The opening set saw each player break serve, but stay fairly close, as the players fought a grueling battle of attrition. The first set was eventually own by Davydenko, 7-5, in over an hour and 15 minutes.

The lengthy rallies and a series of deuce games meant that the pace never quickened in the match, and the second and third sets were won by the Russian after a series of breaks on both sides, the match finishing for Davydenko 7-5 6-4 6-4.

This was one of the longest three set matches in my memory, stretching to three hours, and it proved the resilience of Davydenko to hold his nerve and win. The Russian will face Federer in the semifinal.


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