Tokyo, Jan 31: Top seed Monica Seles repelled a brave fightback from qualifier Lina Krasnoroutskaya, winning 6-4, 6-4 to reach the semifinals of the $1.3 million Pan Pacific Open on Friday. Showing no signs of the sprained ankle that contributed to her second-round exit at the Australian Open, Seles had all the answers on the big points against the big-hitting Russian at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
The 29-year-old forced her opponent into a backhand error to take the first set and appeared to be cruising when she rattled off four straight games to take a 4-0 lead in the second.
However, the 129th-ranked Krasnoroutskaya dug in and went for broke, catching Seles by surprise with some thunderous passing shots to pull level at 4-4.
Seles, though, simply refused to be dragged into a third set and the former world number one stepped up the pressure with Krasnoroutskaya serving to stay in the match at 5-4 down.
Bureau Report