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Ivanovic powers into Birmingham semis

Ana Ivanovic has enjoyed a strong start on the grass © PA Photos

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Former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic reached her first WTA Tour semi-final in eight months as she set up an intriguing clash with Daniela Hantuchova at the AEGON Classic in Birmingham.

With neither player having dropped a set this week, something has got to give and Ivanovic, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2007, has been in ominous form on the grass since her arrival in the UK.

Ivanovic dropped just three points on serve in the opening set against Mirjana Lucic, and although her level dropped in the second, she needed less than an hour to wrap up a 6-3 6-4 victory.

"It's a work in progress," Ivanovic said. "I had a few disappointing losses on clay, but I am just enjoying competing on again on grass. Since the first match I have felt good about myself, and my game."

Next up for Ivanovic is Hantuchova, who was the first player to march into the last four with a 6-2 6-4 win over Alison Riske. The American, who sealed a place in the main draw at Wimbledon after beating Aravane Rezai in the third round, had led 4-3 in the second set, but Hantuchova dug deep and a Riske double fault sealed the fourth seed's progress.

In the other half of the draw, Heather Watson's victor Shuai Peng needed all three sets to navigate her way past New Zealand's Marina Erakovic 6-4 4-6 6-3. Peng will now face Sabine Lisicki, who beat Magdalena Rybarikova 7-6(1) 6-4.

At the Sony Ericsson Open in Copenhagen, Caroline Wozniacki remains the woman to beat after she cruised into the semi-finals with a 6-0 6-1 triumph over Alberta Brianti. Wozniacki clinched victory in less than an hour and now faces Mona Barthel, who recovered from a shocking first set to beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands 1-6 6-3 6-4.

In the other semi-final, fourth seed Lucie Safarova defeated Shuai Zhang 4-6 6-0 7-6(5) to set up a meeting with Croatian Petra Martic, who beat Alona Bondarenko 6-4 3-6 6-3.

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