By Bill Scott Jan 24, 2007, 7:49 GMT
Melbourne - Feisty Kim Clijsters made amends for 62 unforced errors as she inflicted another Australian Open defeat on good friend Martin Hingis Wednesday to set up a semi-final with Maria Sharapova 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Kim Clijsters of Belgium in action against Martina Hingis of Switzerland in their quarter-finals match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, on Wednesday 24 January 2007. Clijsters won 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. EPA/DENNIS M. SABANGAN
The battle of the brides-to-be - Clijsters is marrying a basketballer, Hingis is engaged to tennis player Radek Stepanek - was a festival of errors for the Belgian.
But Clijsters stood firm in the face of a Hingis attack to emerge into the final four for what should be her last Open with retirement due sometime latter in the season to start a family.
Sharapova managed a patchy victory over compatriot Anna Chakvetadze 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 to improve her record against fellow Russians to 44-15.
Chakvetadze, seeded 12 and also coached by her father like Sharapova, forced the second seed to work before Sharapova finally reached the semi-final on her third match point.
The winner overcame 41 unforced errors, striking 32 winners and breaking five times.
Clijsters stand 4-2 over Sharapova in their career series, with the Russian winning two of their last three official meetings.
But achieving the win over Hingis was a closely-fought thing.
'I wasn't seeing the ball at all,' said the Belgian winner. 'But when you're not feeling it, the only thing you can do is fight.
'That's what I did and turned it around.'
Clijsters broke three-time champion Hingis five times. Hingis managed to convert on six of her 14 chances.
The pair are good friends, but Clijsters has now beaten the Swiss in two consecutive Melbourne quarter-finals.
'Over the last year (since coming back to tennis after a three-year retirement) Martina has been improving. She has good tennis left in her.
Clijsters closed out her victory with a break of Hingis, sending a winner into the open court after just over two hours.
Sharapova won her third match against Chakvetadze after going out to her rival last autumn in Moscow.
Sharapova had blisters taped in the second set after Chakvetadze was treated at the start for a strained shoulder as the pair of 19-year-olds met
'I didn't serve as well as I did my previous round,' said the winner. 'But it's tough to get a lot of easy points from her. She gets a lot of balls back and she makes you work even if you do hit a pretty big first serve.'
Sharapova moves into the final four after dispatching three compatriots (Anastassia Rodionova in the second round and Vera Zvonareva in the fourth) during the fortnight.
'In the semifinal, you'll have to step it up, whoever is in the other half will definitely want to win, as well,' she said.
Sharapova, who will take over the number 1 ranking again on Monday, termed her performance 'scratchy.'
'It was up and down. When you're up a set and a break against a player this good, you can't let her back into the match or this is what happens.'
Your Talkback on this Story