Fri Jul 11 16:50:39 2008

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Pennetta, Medina Garrigues move into Palermo semis

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Palermo, Italy (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Italian favorite Flavia Pennetta and four-time champion Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain highlighted Friday's quarterfinal winners at the Palermo International tennis tournament.

Pennetta pasted Georgian qualifier Margalita Chakhnashvili 6-1, 6-1, while the second-seeded Medina Garrigues held off eighth-seeded Italian Tathiana Garbin 6-0, 3-6, 6-0 on the red clay at Country Time Club. Medina Garrigues captured this event in 2001 and from 2004-06.

Meanwhile, fifth-seeded Italian Sara Errani beat fourth-seeded Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro 4-1 and seventh-seeded Ukrainian Mariya Koryttseva handled Russian lucky-loser Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. Suarez Navarro retired against Errani due to a finger injury.

Saturday's semifinals will pit Pennetta against her fellow Italian Errani and Medina Garrigues versus Koryttseva.

The 2008 Palermo titlist will take home $23,000.