Inspired Safina Crushes Azarenka

Saturday, July 26, 2008 at 3:27 pm

LOS ANGELES :A ruthless Dinara Safina crushed Victoria Azarenka 6-3 6-1 in the Los Angles Classic quarter-finals on Friday.

Italy’s Flavia Pennetta, the 10th seed, reached her first WTA Tour second tier semi-final with a 7-6 3-6 6-1 victory over 14th seed Sybille Bammer of Austria.

Safina, who needed more than two and half hours to beat fellow Russian Alla Kudryavtseva on Thursday, looked sharp on a hot afternoon against Azarenka.

“Sometimes you need those kind of matches where it’s good, bad, you are fighting, it puts everything out of you,” the fourth-seeded Safina told reporters.

“It was a perfect match,” said Safina, who is seeking her first title on US soil. “I have nothing bad to say. My coach said it was the best match I ever played.”

French Open finalist Safina will meet the winner of the match between top seed Jelena Jankovic and number nine Nadia Petrova of Russia.

Pennetta, 26, took control in the third set against Bammer, playing very aggressively and firing winners all over the court.

“I think we worked very hard this winter and we are still working very hard and I think that is why I am this way now,” Pennetta said. “I think if I play my game, stay focused, I have a chance to go to the finals.

Pennetta will face unseeded American Bethanie Mattek who overwhelmed China’s Yuan Meng 6-2 7-5.