Yayuk reaches Edgbaston semis

Yayuk reaches Edgbaston semis

BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters): World number nine Irina Spirlea
of Rumania again showed her dislike for grass courts as she was
beaten 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 by sixth seed Yayuk Basuki of Indonesia in
the quarterfinal of Edgbaston Classic women's tennis tournament
yesterday.

Yayuk, who eliminated Spirlea in the semifinal a year ago,
looked more determined than her Rumanian opponent in taking the
opening set.

Second seed Spirlea rallied to take the second but then
faltered again in the decider to allow the Indonesian to book a
last-four berth.

Yayuk will meet seventh seed Elena Likhovtseva, of Russia, who
beat Belgium's Dominique van Roost, seeded four, 6-3, 6-4 in
another quarterfinal match.

The other semifinal will pit French defending champion
Nathalie Tauziat, who beat Australia's Kerry-Anne Guse 6-2, 6-3
yesterday, against former world number one Steffi Graf.

At the Queen's Club men's tournament, world number one Pete
Sampras suffered an upset 3-6, 2-6 defeat by Australian double
specialist Mark Woodforde yesterday.