ZURICH, Switzerland, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati overcame a pair of youngsters Friday to reach the semifinals of the Swisscom Challenge.
Daniela Hantuchova, a native of Slovakia, actually surprised Davenport by winning the first set. But the third seed quickly regroupedand completed a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory to improve to 32-5 this year.
Marie-Giane Mikaelian, a resident of Switzerland, was defeated by Capriati, 6-4, 6-2. Mikaelian had been 4-0 in quarterfinals this year.
Capriati and Davenport will meet in one semifinal Saturday and seeds Jelena Dokic of Yugoslvia and Nathalie Tauziat of France will square off in the other.
Both Hantuchova and Mikaelian upset seeds in the first round. Hantuchova knocked off No. 6 Meghann Shaughnessy of the United States and Mikaelian surprised No. 7 Elena Dementieva of Russia.
But the were no surprises Friday. With the late withdrawal of top seed and defending champion Martina Hingis, the top four remaining seeds advanced to the semifinals.
Capriati's dream season continued Monday when she reached the top spot in the rankings. She has won Australian and French Open among her three titles and has reached the final in four other events.
Looking for her sixth title of 2001 and second in succession, Davenport continued her dominance here as she won for the 13th time in 14 matches. She captured consecutive titles in 1997 and 1998 before losing a year ago in the final to Hingis.
The fourth-seeded Dokic got past No. 8 Silvia Farina Elia of Italy, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). Tauziat needed a pair of tiebreakers to bounce ninth-seeded compatriot Sandrine Testud, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4). Testud was moved into Hingis' spot in the original draw.
