Agnes Szavay of Hungary beat Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova 7-6 6-1 to advance to the semifinals of the Open Gaz de France in Paris.
Second-seeded Hantuchova took a 4-1 lead in the first set, but seventh-seeded Szavay recovered and eventually took the tiebreak 7-4. In the second game of the second set Hantuchova received treatment on her right hand and had it bandaged. After that, she lost five consecutive games, and hence the match, but she refused to blame the defeat solely on the injury.
“My hand was hurting, it’s true, but that’s not an excuse,” said Hantuchova. “My opponent played really well.”
In the semifinals of the Tier II tournament in Paris, Szavay will face Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva, who advanced with a 7-5 6-2 win over Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko.
