Henin-Hardenne moves into semifinals

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Third-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne routed Nadia Petrova, 6-0, 6-2, in 55 minutes Friday and advanced to the semifinals of the Acura Classic.

Henin-Hardenne was joined by fourth seed Lindsay Davenport, who powered past fellow American, Chanda Rubin, 6-3, 6-3.

Ranked third in the world, Henin-Hardenne is regarded as the premier claycourt on the WTA Tour, particularly after capturing the French Open for her first career Grand Slam title. But she is beginning to make an impact on the hard-court circuit, improving to 19-3 this season.

Henin-Hardenne will now will face another Russian, Svetlana Kuznetsova, who eliminated Elena Likhotseva, 6-2, 6-3.