Clijsters beats Schiavone to reach Warsaw semis

WARSAW, May 5 (Reuters) Belgian world number two Kim Clijsters moved into the semi-finals of the Warsaw Cup today by defeating fifth seed Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-4 6-4.

In 10 meetings Schiavone has yet to win a set against Clijsters and, although the match was always competitive, she did not look like doing so this time either.

The Italian made the better start in both sets but failed to maintain her advantage. She broke Clijsters to love to lead 2-0 but a double-fault and a netted overhead allowed the Belgian to break back in the fifth game.

A further break to 4-3 when Schiavone netted a volley was enough to give Clijsters the set.

The second set followed a similar pattern, with Schiavone holding off three break points and then breaking Clijsters to 2-0.

But a fourth double-fault and then a backhand down the line that forced a backhand error from Schiavone allowed Clijsters to break back immediately.

The players were level to 4-4 where Schiavone hit an easy smash wide to give Clijsters a break point.

Riding her luck, a forehand from Clijsters then clipped the net to give her the break and she served out the match with ease.

Reuters PG VV1726