Clijsters clinches semi spot

Kim Clijsters moved a step closer to a second straight tournament victory after thrashing fourth seed Elena Dementieva 6-2 6-1 in the quarter-finals of the Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami.

The former world number one is unseeded after missing much of 2004 and the early portion of this year with a left wrist injury.

But, two weeks ago, she beat current world number one Lindsay Davenport in the final of the Pacific Life Open.

“I feel like I’m hitting as good as I can at the moment,” said Clijsters, who improved to 14-1 this year.

"I feel like I’m doing things off-site for my tennis to make sure that I just have to focus on those things. That’s making me feel comfortable out there on the court. I'm enjoying playing very much. It’s a great feeling to be back out there.”

Clijsters will face top seed Amelie Mauresmo in the last four after the Frenchwoman routed unseeded Ana Ivanovic 6-1 6-4.

“I’ve felt since the tournament started I’m playing better and better,” Mauresmo said. “Probably the first set and a half that I played were the best ones. But I thought she was giving me a lot of free points as well.”

In the men’s event, unseeded David Ferrer needed just 65 minutes to crush 26th seed Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia 6-2 6-3 to claim a berth in the semi-finals.

“I’m very surprised,” said Ferrer, who is hoping to reach his first ATP final since Sopot in 2003. “I wasn't expecting to do so well in one of the Masters.”

Ferrer, who improved to 11-8 this year, now meets fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who cruised past 25th seed Thomas Johansson of Sweden 6-2 6-4.

Ferrer got his wish after his victory over Hrbaty, saying: “I hope to play against Rafael, because that way at least a Spaniard will go on in the tournament.”