(‘sHertogenbosch) Dinara Safina is the first player to advance to the Ordina Open final that will be held on Saturday at the Autotron in Rosmalen, near ‘sHertogenbosch. The Russian defeated Greek Eleni Daniilidou in three sets, 6-3, 3-6 and 6-4. Safina will either meet her compatriot Elena Dementieva or Dutch Michaëlla Krajicek, who will play for a place in the final later today.

Safina started losing her service game in the first set. “I was a little nervous in the beginning,” she said. Safina managed to break back in the fourth game, and with a break in the sixth service game, the Russian took a 5-2 lead after holding on to her own service.

In the second set, the match went to Daniilidou. With service breaks in the first, the second, the fifth, the sixth, the Greek took her third service break in the eighth. With holding on to her own service, she took the second set, 6-3.

Safina, in the third set, took the second service game away from Daniilidou, but the Greek had her rebreak in the next service game. Both players held on to their service until Safina took the lead in the ninth game.

The Muscovite held three matchpoints on 5-4 and 0-40, but the Greek from Thessaloniki came back to advantage on her own service to stay in the match. Safina hit a forehand winner for deuce. Daniilidou then hit a ball long giving Safina her fourth matchpoint. She was not wasting the fourth opportunity, and with a forehand winner, Safina advanced into the final of the Ordina Open 2006.

‘sHertogenbosch) Dutch Michaëlla Krajicek is through to the semifinal of the Ordina Open in ‘sHertogenbosch, Holland. Krajiceks opponent Jelena Jankovic had to retire in the first set of the match after she slipped and pulled a muscle in her upper leg. The Dutch youngster was down 4-1 but came back to 5 all. Right after Jankovic held on to her service game, and received Krajicek’s service at 40-15, the Serb slipped, fell, and stayed on the grass in pain.

After her injury time out, she came back, and Krajicek came to 6-6 to pull out a tiebreak. They did not reach a fourth service in the tiebreak because Jankovic could not move and retired, being 2-1 down. Krajicek will now face Dementieva in the semifinal on Friday.

(‘sHertogenbosch) Elena Dementieva of Russia is the first one to advance to the semifinal of the Ordina Open in Holland after defeating Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Montenegro in two sets. Dementieva, who was having trouble with serving in the first set, won 7-6 (6) and 6-4.

Dementieva won the first set tiebreak after Ivanovic could not hold on to a 4-2 lead. The Russian was having trouble with serving in the first set, hitting seven double faults. Three of them were hit on crucial moments, handing over the break to Ivanovic in the tenth game for 5 all, and not the 6-4 she was fighting for.

After reaching 6-all, Dementieva took the lead in the tiebreak, but she could not hold on to it. Ivanovic broke for 6-4, but she could not hold her own service. The Russian broke back twice after Ivanovic hit her shots long on both points. Dementieva was serving to win the tiebreak at 7-6 and took the tiebreak and the first set after Belgrade born Ivanovic hit her service return into the net.Ana Ivanovic lost to Dementieva

In the second set Dementieva started to serve better and took the 5-2 lead after she had lost the first service game of the set. Ivanovic managed to come back to 4-5 after Dementieva hit a double fault on 30-40.

Ivanovic, however, could not find a way to tie the set 5 all. Dementieva took a 0-40 lead, reaching her first matchpoint after the Serb was not accurate with her shots, hitting a ball wide, long and letting Dementieva hit forehand winner. Ivanovic herself hit a winner for 15-40, but resistance came too late, and she hit forehand into the net. Game, set and match for Elena Dementieva, 7-6 (6) and 6-4.

Dementieva will meet Dutch Michaëlla Krajicek or Serbian Jelena Jankovic in the semifinal. The Russian reached the Ordina Open final in 2002, but lost against Greek Eleni Daniilidou after leading 3-1 in the third set.

Top seed Elena Dementieva won her first grass court match of the season over fellow countrywman and homonym Elena Vesnina, in a three setter battle for a quarterfinal spot.

The oldest of the Russians, Dementieva, sailed away with the first set fairly easily claiming it 6-1. But after that, some lapses of concentration, as she later acknowldeged to have, saw her fall behind 1-4 in the second set as Vesnina started finding her game on the lawns of s’Hertogenbosch, Holland. Dementieva still managed to grab three more games and level the set at 4 all, but Vesnina wasn’t letting her chance go away and eventually claimed the second set 6-4.

“It’s amazing how quick the situation can change, you have to be focused on every single point.” Dementieva told reporters about her second set loss.

In the third set, players traded breaks early on but then Dementieva showed her class and stepped it up to go up 5-2. Vesnina still managed to steal a pair of games away but in the end the strict Russian hierarchy spoke louder and Dementieva closed the day 6-1, 4-6 and 6-4.

“It wasn’t easy. I played my first grasscourt match and it just takes time to adjust to the surface,” Dementieva told reporters

Next up for the Muscovite will be Serbian sensation Ana Ivanovic. Ivanovic ousted Iveta Benesova on court 1 in a two set match that ended 6-3 and 7-5. They will now face off for the second time this year and also the second time in their careers. Their inaugural match was back in Indian Wells in March, when Elena went all the way into the final before losing to Maria Sharapova. They met in the quarterfinal stage, which Elena won in a coming-from-behind win 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

“Tomorrow it will be very important for me to hold my serve,” Dementieva said. “It’s all about holding serve. If you can hold serve, it’s going to be a tie-breaker match.”

Dementieva will most certainly try to claim this tune-up event for Wimbledon after having fell short in 2002 at the hands of Eleni Daniilidou in three sets.

Elena is also through in doubles. She and partner Flavia Pennetta defeated the wildcard entry of Jelena Jankovic and Tina Krizan in three sets: 6-1, 4-6, 6-1. The number two seeds will now play the beautiful team of Maria Kirilenko and Ana Ivanovic. The fifth day of the Ordina Open will then be the day for Elena Dementieva and Ana Ivanovic since they are meeting twice in the same day at crucial stages of two events.

Dementieva will start her match with Ivanovic at 12.00 local time, as first match on centre court.

Other winners include home darling Michaella Krajicek who ousted defending campion Klara Koukalova from Czech Republic. Krajicek will now play Jankovic, while Dinara Safina will play tour veteran Brenda Schultz-McCarthy. In a match of unseeded players, blackhorses Eleni Daniilidou and Paola Suarez will square off for a semifinal berth.

(‘sHertogenbosch) Michaëlla Krajicek defeated last year’s title defender Klara Koukalova. The Dutch needed three sets to advance to the next round of the Ordina Open. The match was bothered by wind and delayed due to rain in the first set. Krajicek said that not only her Czech opponent was against her, she also had to fight against the windy conditions on centre court. After three sets the 17-year-old came out as the winner ousting Koukalova 6-7, 6-4 and 6-3.

“It was a weird match,” Krajicek said. “There was a lot of wind. I did put up a good fight, I was physically very strong today. And I started to serve better as the match went on, but in the third set it was so windy that my service didn’t go as well as I wanted.

“Today my opponent was much better than the one in the first round, but I could react better to her way of playing in the 2nd and 3rd set.

“I moved around court much better as well. Sometimes I felt I was faster at the ball than I expected. At one point I hit a return at the net and I did not realize I had so time enough to play it better than I did.

“Koukalova’s service is not very hard, but it’s very well placed. So I am very glad I ousted the title defender today,” the promising youngster said.

Last year the Krajicek family was very disappointed not being able to play the mixed doubles at Wimbledon. This year Michaëlla is fit and healthy enough to play the mixed doubles, but brother Richard got injured while playing tennis in Spain two weeks ago.

“We were getting a wildcard for the mixed doubles but we didn’t apply for one since Richard told me he couldn’t play at Wimbledon, specially our dad is disappointed. He wanted to see us playing that mixed doubles. It is also a disappointment because this year it’s ten year ago Richard won the title there.

“Playing doubles with Richard has become very important to me, but for some reason it is not going to happen yet. Next year he is another year older so that’s not going to help either. At Wimbledon I will play doubles with Sania Mirza from India now,” she added.

Krajiceks next opponent will be Jelena Jankovic of Serbia who defeated Alyona Bondarenko of Ukraine in three sets, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(5).