Kuznetsova advances to French Open semifinal

Svetlana Kuznetsova returned to the French Open semifinals, recovering from a slow start to beat unseeded Kaia Kanepi 7-5, 6-2 Wednesday.

Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open champion, was runner-up at Roland Garros to Justine Henin in 2006.

In an all-Russian semifinal Thursday, the No. 4-seeded Kuznetsova will play the winner of the quarterfinal between No. 7 Elena Dementieva and No. 13 Dinara Safina.

The other semifinal will be all-Serbian, with No. 2-seeded Ana Ivanovic playing No. 3 Jelena Jankovic. Ivanovic beat Patty Schnyder 6-3, 6-2 Tuesday, and Jankovic defeated unseeded Carla Suarez Navarro by the same score.

Kanepi, an Estonian playing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, was hurt by 31 unforced errors and lost 16 of 24 points on her second serve.

Still, she took an early lead.

Kuznetsova lost serve to fall behind 4-2 when she ended an 11-stroke exchange by putting a forehand into the net. Kanepi raised a fist, bent over and yelled in excitement, while her supporters in the guest box stood and cheered while waving Estonian flags.

Kanepi went ahead 40-love in the next game, a point from a 5-2 lead, before her game unraveled. Kuznetsova won the next point, a 12-stroke rally, with a forehand winner, and Kanepi dropped the next four points too, all on her miscues, capped by a double-fault on break point.

That began a run in which Kuznetsova won five of six games _ and 23 of 32 points _ to take the first set.

She raced to a 5-1 lead in the second set, and after closing out the victory with a forehand winner, she waved a clenched fist as she walked to the net.

Three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal was toasted on his 22th birthday Tuesday after he gave himself another berth in the semifinals. He drubbed fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-1, 6-1, 6-1, the most lopsided victory by Nadal in two days.

On Sunday, he routed yet another poor Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco, 6-1, 6-0, 6-2.

"I play better and better every match," Nadal said.

The going's about to get tougher. A potential final looms against No. 1-ranked Roger Federer, but first No. 2 Nadal must beat No. 3 Novak Djokovic on Friday in a semifinal widely anticipated since the draw was held nearly two weeks ago.

Nadal is 7-3 against Djokovic and 26-0 at Roland Garros.

"I don't want to go out there in the semis and just try my best," Djokovic said. "I want to win, and I think I have good quality and a good chance. Of course he's a favorite, and all the credit to that, but only with a positive attitude and approach in the match I can get the positive outcome."

The Australian Open champion, Djokovic is bidding for his second successive major title. He survived a serious challenge in the semifinals, beating precocious 19-year-old Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 7-6 (3), 7-5.

Djokovic has reached five consecutive Grand Slam semifinals, joining Federer, Ivan Lendl and Boris Becker as the only men to accomplish the feat in the 40-year Open era.

"He plays at a very high level," Nadal said, "but I also play well."

Against Almagro, Nadal lost the first game before winning nine in a row _ his longest such streak since his previous match, when he swept 10 in a row. He finished with only nine unforced errors, an astounding total given the grind required on clay.

It was only the third time a man has lost fewer than four games in a Grand Slam quarterfinal in the Open era. The rout was especially striking because the No. 19-seeded Almagro is no pushover on clay, with a tour-high 29 victories on the surface this season.

Nadal denied the match was as stress-free as he made it appear.

"I have the same pressure like everybody," he said. "I feel nervous before the match always. The result was calm, but the feeling not."

Nadal has lost 25 games through five rounds, the lowest total at that stage of a Grand Slam in the Open era.

"Impressive," Djokovic said. "He has been playing better and better."

That's saying a lot, considering Nadal is two victories from becoming the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1978-81 to win the clay-court major championship four consecutive times.

In the last quarterfinal matches Wednesday, Federer was to face No. 24 Fernando Gonzalez, and No. 5 David Ferrer was to meet unseeded Gael Monfils, the only French player remaining.