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Posted at 2:45 p.m., Friday, August 3, 2007

Tennis: Schnyder continues roll in Acura Classic

Associated Press

CARLSBAD, Calif. — Patty Schnyder claimed her second straight upset with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 4 seed Nadia Petrova to advance to the semifinals of the Acura Classic today.

"She's a dangerous opponent with her big serve and her powerful groundstroke," the 11th-seeded Schnyder said. "For me, it was still a great win. I never expected to win it that easily."

Petrova, ranked ninth in the world, was one of five Russians in the quarterfinals.

Top-seeded Maria Sharapova of Russia had little trouble in a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Sania Mirza of India.

"I'd rather take these matches than be playing 7-6 in the third set out in the heat," said Sharapova, who has not won a title since October. She will play against the winner of the night match between No. 3 seed Anna Chakvetadze of Russia and 10th-seeded Venus Williams.

No. 9 seed Elena Dementieva of Russia defeated countrywoman Maria Kirilenko, 6-2, 6-4 for a semifinal berth against Schnyder. Dementieva, a two-time Grand Slam runner-up, lost to Schnyder in straight sets here last year in the semifinals.

"I've never played against Maria before so I got a little bit nervous in the beginning," Dementieva said. "It was a quite difficult match even though the score was easy."

Schnyder is confident of making her first appearance in a final in more than a year.

"I'm feeling great out on the court," she said. "The last three days I know where my shots are going. Everything seems to be working. I just want to keep it up for the weekend."

Sharapova's victory was similar to her only other match against Mirza, a 6-1, 6-1 win at the 2005 U.S. Open.

"I think that from the beginning of the match, I played my game," said Sharapova, ranked No. 2 in the world. "I thought I did a really good job of serving well and stepping it up when I had to."