Francesca Schiavone reaches Strasbourg semifinal

Second-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy easily defeated Johanna Larsson of Sweden 6-0, 6-3 to reach the Strasbourg International semi-finals on Thursday, but three-time champion Anabel Medina Garrigues lost.

Schiavone dropped serve once in the second set but the former French Open champion recovered.

She next plays Sloane Stephens of the United States, who beat Ayumi Morita of Japan 6-3, 6-4.

Alize Cornet clinched her 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) victory against Garrigues on her first match point against the fourth-seeded Spaniard, with both players losing their serve five times.

Cornet, who has one WTA title, next faces Pauline Parmentier in an all-French match.

Parmentier won 6-3, 6-3 against Russia's Alexandra Panova.

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