18 June 2004	Friday	29 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

LONDON, June 17: Top seed Amelie Mauresmo swept into the semifinals of the Eastbourne International on Thursday, beating Bulgaria's Magdalena Maleeva 6-4 6-3. The Frenchwoman handled the windy Devonshire Park conditions better and earned a place in the semi-finals against Slovak Daniela Hantuchova.

Maleeva, seeded eighth at Eastbourne, had started solidly enough but could not stay with her opponent. Mauresmo has now won five of the six meetings between the two and the only one on grass.

The Frenchwoman is still seeking her first grand slam title and is eyeing Wimbledon with relish. Hantuchova booked her place in the last four with an impressive 6-1 7-6 victory over third-seeded Japanese Ai Sugiyama.

The bottom semifinal will be an all-Russian affair between second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and fourth seed Vera Zvonareva. Kuznetsova beat Tina Pisnik of Slovenia 3-6 6-2 6-3 while Zvonareva wiped Spain's Maria Sanchez Lorenzo 6-3 6-0.

Results (quarterfinals)

Amelie Mauresmo bt Magdalena Maleeva 6-4, 6-3; Daniela Hantuchova bt Ai Sugiyama 6-1, 7-6 (9/7); Vera Zvonareva bt Maria Sanchez Lorenzo 6-3, 6-0; Svetlana Kuznetsova bt Tina Pisnik 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Rusedski crashes

NOTTINGHAM: Defending champion Greg Rusedski's hopes of retaining the Nottingham Open ended Thursday when he suffered a three-set quarterfinal defeat to Thomas Johansson.

The 2002 Australian Open champion from Sweden beat the British number two 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/5).

Coria wins again

DEN BOSCH: French Open runner-up Guillermo Coria defeated German qualifier Michael Kohlmann 6-4 6-2 at the Ordina Open on Thursday to record only his second career win on grass.

The Argentine top seed, third on the ATP entry rankings, will meet either France's Arnaud Clement or Dutchman Dennis van Scheppingen in the quarter-finals of the pre-Wimbledon event.

Coria has been seeded number three for Wimbledon next week and hastily appointed a new coach in a bid to hold his own at the grasscourt grand slam. The claycourter has never won a match at Wimbledon. He recorded his first win on grass on Tuesday when he beat Karol Beck of Slovakia in the first round.

In the Den Bosch women's event France's Mary Pierce advanced to the semifinals after beating Anne Kremer of Luxembourg 6-4 6-2. She meets eighth seed Lina Krasnoroutskaya of Russia, who earlier defeated Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and Montenegro 6-4 6-1. -Agencies