Dementieva advances to Luxembourg semis

LUXEMBOURG, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- No. 1 seed Elena Dementieva was among Friday's quarterfinal winners at the $225,000 Luxembourg Championships.

The Russian, a gold medalist at this summer's Beijing Olympics, advanced to the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-0 victory against former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo of France.

The match took only 58 minutes, with Dementieva converting 5-of-8 break points while losing her serve one time.

No. 8 Sorana Cirstea of Romania knocked off third-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 7-6 (7-2), 6-2; sixth-seeded Li Na of China beat unseeded Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 4-6, 6-2; and fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark was a 6-1, 7-6 (9-7) winner against No. 7 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain.

"I started well," Hantuchova said. "I think I did everything I was supposed to up to 5-2, then I lost my concentration a bit and she started to go for her shots more."

Saturday's semifinal matches are Dementieva-Cristea; and Na-Wozniacki.

Sunday's champion will earn $35,000.