DUBAI (Reuters) – Monica Seles and Sandrine Testud both enjoyed one-sided victories to stride into the semifinals of the Dubai Open on Thursday.
Second seeded Seles, who admits she is feeling weary and grumpy after playing for eight consecutive weeks, took just 46 minutes to overwhelm seventh seed Angeles Montolio of Spain 6-0 6-2 and fourth seeded Testud swept past sixth seed Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand 6-2 6-0.
Seles, who claimed her 52nd career singles title in Doha on Sunday, won the first eight games, but then dropped her serve.
She was also broken when serving for victory at 5-1, but she immediately broke back to take the match.
“I hadn’t played her before and didn’t know what to expect, but she gave me the kind of ball I liked,” the American said afterwards.
“I just tried to stay aggressive, but it was a very difficult match to play because of the wind.
“Even though I lost two service games I still thought that I served well, but definitely my returns were the best thing today.”
Tanasugarn revealed that she was feeling drained after reaching the Doha final, and that she had been unwell for the past couple of days. But Testud thought she would have won the match anyway.
“When I play good I think I have everything to beat her,” said Testud.
“I was very concentrated on the return of serve, and I was aggressive, especially when she was playing her second serve. And I didn’t make many mistakes. That’s the whole story.”
Top seed Venus Williams takes on Russia’s Anastasia Myskina for a place in the semis later on Thursday while third-seeded Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo takes on Slovenia’s Tina Pisnik.