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Sharapova Pulls Out of the Kremlin Cup
Three Russians, Elena Dementyeva, Nadia Petrova and Anna Chakvetadze, will play semi-finals at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. Chakvetadze did not even have to hit a ball to advance. Her rival Maria Sharapova has pulled out of the competition with a foot injury. The tournament’s top seed Amelie Mauresmo has been knocked off by Czech Nicole Vaidisova.
Maria Sharapova was determined to claim the Kremlin Cup title that she has been striving to win for the last two years. The 19-year-old, however, was forced to pull out of her quarterfinal with a foot injury. She complained of a pain in her right foot after her match on Wednesday. “I will not be able to step out on the court today. If I’m not able to give 100 percent, I’d rather not play at all,” the Russian said.
Maria Sharapova has joined the tournament’s first-seed Amelie Mauresmo on the sidelines after Mauresmo lost to Czech 17-year-old Nicole Vaidisova in a 2-1/2-hour battle, 1-6 7-5 7-6. Vaidisova will now face Russian Nadia Petrova who is an odds-on favorite after Svetlana Kuznetsova and Maria Sharapova crushed out. Petrova beat compatriot Vera Zvonareva on Friday 7-5 6-1.
The second semi-final will be Russian, bringing together Elena Demetyeva and Anna Chakvetadze, who moved into the semi-finals after Sharapova’s pull-out. Elena Dementyeva earlier went past sixth seed Patty Schnyder 7-6 7-6.
Men’s first seed Nikolay Davydenko beat Maxim Mirnyi of Belarus 6-3 7-5 to advance to the Kremlin Cup’s semifinals. Davydenko will take on French Fabrice Santoro. The Russian has not lost a set at the tournament.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 14, 2006
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