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Nicole Vaidisova reaches French Open semifinals

June 7, 2006 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Sacramento Capitals News Release


PARIS, France - The Sacramento Capitals' Nicole Vaidisova, who stunned No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo in the round of 16 and Venus Williams in the quarterfinals, will now face Svetlana Kuznetsova in the French Open semifinals.

Vaidisova, a second-round finisher in her debut at Roland Garros last year, squandered big leads in losing the first set but fought back to defeat No.11 seed Venus Williams, 67(5) 61 63. The No.16-seeded Czech blew leads of 4-1 in the first set and 5-2 in the tie-break, spraying a forehand wide on set point. But she was the steadier of the two in the second and third sets, erring 28 times to her opponent's 45, the last of which came with a wild forehand on the second match point.

"The first set in general was not a great set," Vaidisova said. "I fell asleep there, didn't use my chances in the tie-break and everything. But luckily I stayed calm and tried to be very positive. It worked out. I'm playing very well lately. It's my first ever semifinal in a Grand Slam. So very excited."

"I had a decent first set," said Williams, who had won their only prior meeting, in the final of Istanbul last year. "I would say I faced the same game as last year, she's just a lot more consistent. She played really good tennis. She seems to be on a roll. She was making some great shots. She was the better player today."

Kuznetsova and Vaidisova have faced each other once before, the Russian prevailing in three sets in the third round of Wimbledon last year. But both players are currently in very different places now. After falling out of the Top 10 last fall, Kuznetsova has worked her way back inside with some impressive results this year, including a title run at the presitgious Tier I NASDAQ-100 Open. Vaidisova heads into the semis with a nine-match win streak, having captured her first clay court title at the tune-up event in Strasbourg and in the fourth round notching her first win over a reigning world No.1, defeating Amélie Mauresmo.

courtesy of Sony Ericcson WTA Tour

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