SAFINA IS SUPRISE ROME SEMI-FINALIST!
Russia's Dinara Safina emerged as the latest surprise in Rome's Alice Cup on Friday with a easy 6-1 6-1 win over compatroit Elena Dementieva. She will play either Italy's Romina Oprandi, another surprise quarter-finalist, or another Russian, Svetlana Kusnetsova, the seventh seed, in the semi-final.
Dinara, the 16th seed this year, had only had one win against a top-flight player player before coming to Rome, but since the start of the week she has picked up two more. In her third round match she took down the top seed, world number two Kim Clijsters in straight sets. Dementieva, the number five seed who looked until Friday to be on-form, will go down as another decent scalp for the young Russian.
Dinara, the younger sister of Marat Safin, makes the last four without yet losing a set. "It is a dream and I hope my dream continues; I don't want it to stop," she said after her match. Dementieva was never given the time to find her rythym during the quarter final. "My tactics were good because I know what she doesn't like," Dinara said. She is also still in the doubles tournament.