Groenefeld the surprise semifinalist at Family Circle Cup

Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany will play her semifinal match against her doubles partner, Nadia Petrova

Until today, Anna-Lena Groenefeld had never made it to the semifinals of a Tier I tournament. She did it this afternoon by defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets, despite committing thirteen double faults and blowing two chances to close the match. Groenefeld's stinging groundstrokes became the decisive factor in her overcoming Kuznetsova and taking control of both sets. Groenefeld's fastest good serve was 117 mph.; she also clocked a faulty serve at 120 mph.

When Groenefeld went to serve for the match in the second set at 5-3, I said she wouldn't hold, and I was right. When she served for the match at 6-5, I assumed she wouldn't hold, and I was right again. Groenefeld does not have much experience in closing at big moments, and the inexperience showed today. However, my prediction that she would win the tiebreak was also right--freed from the responsibility of closing, Groenefeld relaxed and regained dominance, defeating Kuznetsova 6-3, 7-6.

Justine Henin-Hardenne faced a spirited Dinara Safina in the first set of their quarterfinal, but by the second set, Safina was breathing hard and struggling to keep up with the rallies. A victim of Henin-Hardenne's relentless backhand, Safina just became worn down. The final score was 6-4, 6-1.

(There were some amusing moments in this quarterfinal. A couple of times, after hitting winners, Safina yelled "Allez!" And in the last half of the match, Henin-Hardenne began channeling Conchita Martinez, stalking the court to retrieve "lucky" balls with which she had hit winners.)

It was even easier for Nadia Petrova to eliminate the clever Catalina Costano, who went from 1-5 down to defeat fifth seed Nicole Vaidisova. For all her skill, Costano was no match for Petrova's mighty serve, smooth volleys, and authoritative groundstrokes: 6-2, 6-0.

Finally, Patty Schnyder showed up in fine form to defeat Nathalie Dechy, who has been recovering from a shoulder injury. Schnyder was all lobs and spins and pace-changing, and her backhand was so impressive, it brought cheers from the stands, and led her to a 6-0, 6-3 victory. This is the Patty Schnyder people love to see, not the Patty Schnyder who goes to pieces, loses her serve, and chooses the wrong shot against the wrong opponent.

Schnyder told the press yesterday that she struggled with the issue of confidence and with her feelings. Tonight, after she performed so well, in an interview with Luke Jensen, she said she was nervous and was having trouble with her feelings. Is Schnyder more anxious and self-doubting than the other players, or is she just more honest about it?

The stadium court evening doubles match put Raymond and Stosur against Dominguez Lino and Vento-Kabchi. It was over pretty fast, with Raymond and Stosur winning, 6-2, 6-1. Raymond was kind of sluggish during the first set, but picked up the pace in the second. Earlier, Petrova and Groenefeld (who will face each other in a singles semifinal) defeated Huber and Peschke, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, in an exciting doubles match that displayed the light sides of both Petrova and Groenefeld.