Tamarine upsets Safina to reach Ordina final

Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand stayed on course to become the first player to successfully defend the Ordina Open women's title after upsetting top-ranked Dinara Safina 7-5, 7-5 in Friday's semifinals.

Tamarine, who beat Safina in last year's final, will play Belgian teenager Yanina Wickmayer on Saturday. Wickmayer overcame a swirling wind and match-point jitters to beat Francesca Schiavone 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3.

"Safina is very good and she also played really good," Tamarine said. "It was a really difficult match because of the wind."

In the men's draw, qualifier Benjamin Becker rallied to beat fourth-seeded Rainer Schuettler 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 in an all-German semifinal. He will play Raemon Sluiter of the Netherlands, who defeated Ivan Navarro of Spain 6-7 (5) 6-2, 6-3.

Schuettler served for the match at 5-3 in the second set, but Becker broke him twice before sweeping through the final set.

"It's a surprise," Becker said. "In the first and second sets, it didn't look like I had a chance, but luckily I was able to turn the match around."

After breaking Schiavone with a powerful forehand winner in the eighth game of the final set, Wickmayer squandered three match points - including a double fault and missing an easy volley at the net - before the Italian hit a backhand service return long.

"I was a bit nervous," the 19-year-old Wickmayer said. "In the end, I was a bit lucky."

Wickmayer will meet either top-ranked Dinara Safina or defending champion Tamarine Tanasugarn in the final. Safina and Tanasugarn were playing later Friday in a repeat of last year's final that the Thai won in straight sets.

Both Wickmayer and Schiavone were troubled by strong wind gusts blowing across the grass court.

"The wind was a problem, especially against (Schiavone) because she varies her game a lot," Wickmayer said.

AP