seeded Caroline Wozniacki edged Maria Kirilenko of Russia 7-5, 7-6 (4) to reach the Swedish Open semifinals on Thursday. The Dane, the ninth-ranked, will meet third-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy on Friday. Pennetta beat Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the semifinals. Wozniacki, who won both previous matches against Kirilenko, has not dropped a set in three matches. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain will play Gisela Dulko of Argentina in the other semifinal. Both rallied from a set down to win their quarterfinals. Martinez Sanchez beat seventh-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, while Dulko upset second-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (6). The Swedish Open moved back to Bastad, where the first women's tournament was held in 1948, after five years on hard courts at Olympic Stadium in Stockholm. Schnyder in quarters In Hungary, top-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland eased into the Budapest Grand Prix quarterfinals by defeating Maria Elena Camerin 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday. Schnyder, a wild-card entry, broke Camerin at 4-3 in the first set, and rolled through the second in a bid for a 12th career title. “At the beginning, I needed time to learn her game but afterward it was easy, especially since my thigh injury seems to be over,” Schnyder said. Her opponent in the quarterfinals will be fifth-seeded Alisa Kleybanova of Russia, who overcame Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Fourth-seeded Agnes Szavay of Hungary defeated Tathiana Garbin of Italy 7-6 (2), 5-7, 7-5. Garbin took a 4-0 lead in the first set but Szavay cut down on her mistakes and fought back to a 6-5 lead, winning the set in a tiebreak. Garbin leveled the set score thanks to Szavay's plentiful unforced errors, but both players kept breaking each other's serves in the last set until Szavay managed to break Garbin for the match. In Friday's quarterfinals, Szavay will face Swiss qualifier Timea Bacsinszky, who defeated Austria's Patricia Mayr 0-6, 6-3, 6-4. Also, sixth-seeded Alona Bondarenko plays Shahar Peer, and Edina Gallovits meets Petra Martic. Davis Cup In Croatia, James Blake knows how important it is to win opening matches in the Davis Cup, and the American has a big task ahead when he meets huge-serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic on Friday. “The first matches are very important,” said Blake, who is leading the US team in the quarterfinals after Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick withdrew due to a hip injury. “If you win, it relieves a lot of pressure for the second singles,” Blake said after Thursday's draw for the best-of-five series. Mardy Fish, who has replaced Roddick, will play Croatia's No. 1 Marin Cilic in the second singles on Friday. Croatia has won 10 of its last 11 home ties. In doubles play Saturday, Mike and Bob Bryan will meet Karlovic and Lovro Zovko. In the reverse singles on Sunday, Cilic will play Blake and Karlovic will face Fish. The United States, the 32-time Davis Cup Champion, has never beaten Croatia in the most prestigious tennis team competition. The two nations have met twice, in 2002 and in 2005.
