Wed Mar 19 16:05:19 2008

Comment | Email | Print

Kuznetsova reaches Pac Life semis

---

Indian Wells, CA (Sports Network) - Last year's runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova was an easy quarterfinal winner Wednesday at the $2.1 million Pacific Life Open.

The second-seeded Kuznetsova handled 10th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-2, 6-4 in 1 hour, 25 minutes at the beautiful Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Kuznetsova's semifinal opponent will be fourth-seeded Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova or fifth-seeded reigning Indian Wells titlist Daniela Hantuchova. The Sharapova-Hantuchova matchup will be staged on Wednesday evening.

The U.S. Open runner-up Kuznetsova lost to Hantuchova, a two-time champion here, in last year's Indian Wells finale. Sharapova titled here two years ago.

The other quarterfinals will be held here on Thursday, as top-seeded Aussie Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic will face 12th-seeded Vera Zvonareva and third- seeded Jelena Jankovic will encounter 24th-seeded California native Lindsay Davenport, a two-time Indian Wells champion and four-time runner-up.

The 2008 Indian Wells titlist will collect $332,000.