SARASOTA (Florida), April 5: Second seed Anastasia Myskina of Russia battled her way into the semifinals of the Sarasota Open on Friday, slipping past fifth seeded compatriot Elena Dementieva 6-2 3-6 6-1.

Seventh seed Nathalie Dechy of France also advanced, sweeping past American wildcard Ansley Cargill 6-3 6-3.

Dechy, riding her first three match winning streak since opening the season by claiming her first career title at the Gold Coast, will now take on Myskina, who is also looking for her second title of the year following a triumph in Qatar.

The other semi-final will pit Australian qualifier Alicia Molik against former French Open champion Iva Majoli of Croatia.

Molik advanced when Argentina’s Clarisa Fernandez retired in the third set with tendinitis in her left shoulder. Molik led 6-3 4-3.

In the other quarterfinal, Majoli rallied to beat Argentina’s Paola Suarez 3-6 6-3 6-2.

Results (Quarterfinals): Iva Majoli bt Paola Suarez 3-6 6-3 6-2; Anastasia Myskina bt Elena Dementieva 6-2 3-6 6-1; Nathalie Dechy bt Ansley Cargill 6-3 6-3; Alicia Molik bt Clarisa Fernandez 6-3 4-3 retired—Reuters