| BERLIN (Reuters) - Steffi Graf's French Open preparations
suffered a setback Friday when she lost on home soil to France's Julie
Halard-Decugis in a German Open tournament she used to dominate.
World number 21 Halard-Decugis showed more composure than the German,
recovering from the loss of the first set to win 5-7 6-4 6-4 in the quarter-finals
of the Berlin event.
Swiss world number one Martina Hingis meanwhile had her work cut out
against Austrian Barbara Schett before reaching the last four 7-5 7-5.
She now meets French Open champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario for a place
in Sunday's final.
Third seed Graf, returning to action after two weeks off with a foot
injury, said she had been hampered by back pain.
``It's a problem I often have when I play on clay but I don't want to
talk about it too much,'' said the German, who was chasing her 10th triumph
in one of her favorite tournaments.
The former world number one, now sixth in the WTA rankings, was playing
in her first clay-court event in almost two years in her warm-up for the
French Open starting on May 24.
The German, who will turn 30 next month and is chasing a sixth triumph
in Paris, looked far from her brilliant best and made many unforced errors.
``Of course I'm disappointed to have lost but I see no reason not to
go to the French Open,'' she said. ``I will rest for a few days, then travel
to Paris.''
Halard-Decugis goes on to meet unseeded Romanian Ruxandra Dragomir,
who advanced to the last four by beating Swiss Patty Schnyder, the eighth
seed.
Dragomir, who had knocked out Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna and last
year's German Open finalist Amelie Mauresmo of France in the previous rounds,
made a sluggish start but then stepped up a gear to cruise to a 3-6 6-1
6-1 win.
Sanchez Vicario had earlier reached the semifinals when American Serena
Williams retired injured in the second set of their quarter-final.
Fourth seed Sanchez Vicario was leading 6-3 3-2 when Williams, seeded
seventh in the $1.05 million tournament, pulled out with a torn muscle
in her right elbow.
``It has been hurting a bit for days but suddenly, it got worse,'' said
the 17-year-old Williams, who probably thought it was safer to quit in
order not to ruin her chances of taking part in the French Open.
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