Coetzer beats Yayuk Basuki in Toshiba Classic
Coetzer beats Yayuk Basuki in Toshiba Classic
CARLSBAD, California (Agencies): Amanda Coetzer, the compact South African with the potent forehand, posted a straight-sets win over erratic Indonesian Yayuk Basuki at the Toshiba Tennis Classic on Thursday to reach her ninth semifinal this year.
The third-seeded Coetzer combined patience with power to beat Yayuk 6-3 6-4 in a 77-minute quarterfinals clash.
"I played the right shot at the right time. I didn't try to go for two much unless I came to the net and was forced to hit a good shot," the seventh-ranked Coetzer said.
Yayuk, who was coming off Wednesday's upset of fifth seed Anke Huber, actually hit 16 more winners than Coetzer. But her 33 unforced errors -- compared to just 11 for the South African -- nullified all her good work.
"She can be a very dangerous but I was the steadier player today," said Coetzer, who awaits the winner of the late quarterfinal between second seed Monica Seles and Belarussian Natasha Zvereva.
Seventh seed Conchita Martinez romped into the quarterfinals with a 46-minute, 6-1 6-0 pasting of Czech veteran Helena Sukova.
"It was a great match for me. I was very aggressive and didn't let her play her game," the 1994 Wimbledon champion said.
Martinez will not have long to savor her lopsided win. The win put the Spaniard directly in the path of world number one Martina Hingis just four days after the Swiss teen crushed Martinez in a final at Palo Alto.
Coetzer used pivotal breaks in the seventh and ninth games to capture the opening set from Basuki.
With the South African up 5-4 in the second, Basuki self- destructed, producing her seventh double fault at match point to put Coetzer into an increasingly familiar position -- the final four.
Coetzer credited the obvious improvement in her play to her work with Australian coach Gavin Hopper, who helped turn her steady game into a dangerous one -- one that accounted for two wins over Steffi Graf earlier this year.
"I really had to change my ground strokes. I had to get a weapon into my game," he 1.57 meter blonde said.
"Even though I was in the top 20, I felt I wasn't competitive against the top players, especially the young people coming up," she said.
Hopper, who became her coach early in 1995, has molded Coetzer into one of the tougher opponents on the tour.
"I had a lot of faith in him. He's a very good teacher," said Coetzer after improving her 1997 match record to 41-16.
"Before that it was very up and down," she said. "I could hit good shots but had no sense of where to use it.
"Now, I feel I can hit winners from anywhere on the court," she said.
In Montreal Thursday was not a good day for the top seeds at the du Maurier Open.
Former U.S. college champion Chris Woodruff beat second-seeded Croat Goran Ivanisevic 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 and Fabrice Santoro upset Austrian No. 3 Thomas Muster 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
Top-seeded Michael Chang did advance with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Alex O'Brien.
In other matches, No. 4 Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov beat defending champion South African Wayne Ferreira 7-5, 6-3, No. 5 Thomas Enqvist beat fellow Swede Jonas Bjorkmann, the 12th seed, 6-3, 6-2. No. 7 Australian Mark Philippousis downed France's Gillaume Raoux 7-5, 6-3 and No. 8 Dutchman Richard Krajicek beat Justin Gimelstob 6-2, 6-4.
Santoro won a challenger tournament in Newcastle, England, on Sunday, then flew overnight to Montreal in time to beat 14th- seeded Jim Courier in the first round.
The French right-hander knocked off Geoff Grant on Wednesday, then beat Muster.
Santoro, who has added to his workload by playing doubles, advanced to Friday's quarterfinals against French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten. After Courier and Muster, that's three French Open champions in one week.