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NOTTINGHAM (England), June 20: Second seed Fabrice Santoro was demolished 6-1 6-3 by Michel Kratochvil of Switzerland in the Samsung Open quarterfinals Thursday.
Santoro has never been beyond the last eight at the $381,000 Wimbledon warm-up event and was never at the races against Kratochvil, who coped well with the Frenchman’s mix of spin and slice.
The 23-year-old Swiss now moves on to a semi-final clash with big-serving Australian left-hander Wayne Arthurs, who powered his way past British wildcard Arvind Parmar 6-7 6-2 6-4.
Arthurs looked out of sorts in the first set against the Englishman before finding his groove in the second.
When Arthurs broke for a 3-1 lead in the deciding set, the Briton’s fate was sealed, despite his efforts to break back.
The Australian’s left-handed serve is regarded as one of the most potent in the game, particularly on grass.
His reputation stems from Wimbledon in 1999 when he came through qualifying and reached the fourth round, going 111 games without losing his serve.
In Thursday’s other quarterfinals, Briton Greg Rusedski takes on Sweden’s Magnus Larsson while another Swede, Jonas Bjorkman, plays Russian Andrei Stoliarov.
(QUARTERFINALS): Wayne Arthurs (Australia) beat Arvind Parmar (Britain) 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 6-4; 6-Michel Kratochvil (Switzerland) beat 2-Fabrice Santoro (France) 6-1 6-3
EASTBOURNE (England): Third seed Daniela Hantuchova, the teenage conquerer of Martina Navratilova in the second round, reached the semifinals at the 585,000-dollar WTA grass event with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 defeat of American Amy Frazier here Thursday.
The 19-year-old Hantuchova, tipped as one of the contenders of the future after lifting a prestigious title last March in Indian Wells, California, benefitted from a second-set collapse by Frazier, 76th in the world to the European’s 13th.
The victory puts the teenager into a Friday match against Russian Anastasia Myskina, who beat Anne Kremer of Luxembourg 6-2, 7-5.
The second semifinal will be played between American veteran Chanda Rubin and another teenaged talent, 19-year-old German-based Czech Daja Bedanova.
Rubin, 26, who has posted six first-round losses at Wimbledon from nine appearances, crushed fourth seed Silvia Farina Elia 6-1, 6-0 while Bedanova, who put out top seed and Birmingham champion Jelean Dokic in the second round, stopped fifth seeded American Megann Shaughnessy 7-6 (8/6), 6-2.
Hantuchova battled back from 4-1 down in the first set against Frazier as she found her feet in a match which began late due to rain.
(QUARTERFINALS): Anastasia Myskina (Russia) beat Anne Kremer (Luxemburg) 6-2 7-5; Daja Bedanova (Czech Republic) beat 5-Meghann Shaughnessy (U.S.) 7-6 (8-6) 6-2; Chanda Rubin (U.S.) beat 4-Silvia Farina Elia (Italy) 6-1 6-0; 3-Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) beat Amy Frazier (U.S.) 7-6 (7-4) 6-1
Henman favourite
LONDON: Briton Tim Henman has been installed as 7-2 favourite to win Wimbledon by British bookmaker’s William Hill. Venus Williams is even-money favourite to retain her title in the women’s draw at the championships, which begin Monday.
Other odds:
MEN 7-2 Tim Henman 5-1 Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt 7-1 Pete Sampras 8-1 Roger Federer 12-1 Marat Safin 16-1 Andy Roddick 20-1 Nicolas Escude 22-1 Mark Philippoussis 25-1 Thomas Johansson, Yevgeny Kafelnikov
WOMEN Evens Venus Williams 7-4 Serena Williams 6-1 Jennifer Capriati 14-1 Justine Henin 20-1 Kim Clijsters, Jelena Dokic 25-1 Monica Seles 40-1 Daniela Hantuchova—AFP/Reuters
