Tue Jun 3 10:37:31 2008

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Ivanovic charges into French Open semis

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Paris, France (Sports Network) - Ana Ivanovic will appear in her second straight French Open semifinal after handling Swiss veteran Patty Schnyder on Day 10 at Roland Garros.

The 2007 runner-up Ivanovic dismissed the 10th-seeded Schnyder in 6-3, 6-2 fashion on Court Chatrier. The 76-minute contest was never in doubt, as the surging Ivanovic piled up four service breaks, compared to only one for Schnyder, who helped the Serb's cause with 31 unforced errors.

Ivanovic has yet to drop a set at this particular clay-court fortnight. She was pushed to a 7-5 second-set win over Swede Sofia Arvidsson in her opening- round match here last week.

The second-seeded Ivanovic will meet Tuesday's Jelena Jankovic-Carla Suarez Navarro winner in the round of four.

Ivanovic lost to former top-ranked star Justine Henin in last year's French Open finale and gave way to reigning world No. 1 Maria Sharapova in this year's Australian Open title bout.

The 20-year-old Ivanovic has now reached at least the semifinals in four of her last five Grand Slam events.

The fourth round wrapped up here on Tuesday, as fourth-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova handled 16th-seeded Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-3 and Estonian Kaia Kanepi held off Czech Petra Kvitova 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Both matches were suspended because of darkness on Monday, with Kuznetsova leading Azarenka 6-2, 2-2 and Kanepi tied with Kvitova 6-3, 3-6 when play was called.

Kuznetsova, who will meet Kanepi in a quarterfinal here on Wednesday, was the French Open runner-up to Henin two years ago, lost to Henin in last year's U.S. Open final, and captured the U.S. Open in 2004.