Schiavone and Dementieva advance to French Open semifinals

Today, Francesca Schiavone became the first Italian woman in the Open Era to reach the semifinals of a major, as she defeated 3rd seed Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the French Open. 17th seed Schiavone, whose specialty is clay court tennis, utilized the same tactic that Sam Stosur used against Justine Henin: She repeatedly hit high balls with heavy topspin to Wozniacki's backhand, then rushed to the net to finish the point.

Schiavone also held her serve better, and played so aggressively, she controlled most of the rallies. She hit 25 winners, and broke Wozniacki six times. The rain and cold weather did not appear to bother Schiavone, who put on a clay court clinic while Wozniacki struggled to find a way into the match.

In the other quarterfinal, two injured Russian veterans who have known each other for years fought the cold conditions as their thighs ached and the rain fell. Both players had their thighs taped. By the third set, Petrova was limping, and it was clear that she was playing for the sake of not quitting. Dementieva defeated her 2-6, 6-2, 6-0. Despite her pain, the 5th seed played very well in the last two sets.