Mauresmo power game masters Myskina

Amelie Mauresmo secured her place in the semi-finals of Wimbledon for the second successive year with a straight-sets win over Anastasia Myskina on Centre Court this afternoon.

The number three seed needed just over an hour to secure a 6-3 6-4 victory to set up a last-four clash with either world number one Lindsay Davenport or Svetlana Kuznetsova, who play later this afternoon.

Mauresmo, who had lost just 15 games in her four matches before today, again used her serve-and-volley game to great effect, which left the 2004 French Open champion with few opportunities to break her rhythm.

The opening three games of the match all went with serve, Mauresmo again coming forward at every opportunity to produce a winner, but with her Russian opponent also finding her range from the baseline.

The Frenchwoman, though, forced a first break point in game four, volleying at the net to great effect, before a long return from Myskina handed her the advantage at 3-1.

Mauresmo promptly held her own serve, to love, against the ninth seed, before an unforced error – netting a backhand – allowed the Russian to break back in game seven.

However, the former world number one was soon in command again, as Myskina then immediately lost her own serve and Mauresmo closed out the set 6-3 in half-an-hour.

Myskina had never reached the quarter-finals at the All England Club before, and two of her previous matches needed three sets, spending almost nine hours on court ahead of this afternoon.

Mauresmo – yet to drop a set – leading their head-to-head by five to one, which includes a comfortable third-round victory here in 2002, another struggle looked on the cards for the 23-year-old world number 10.

At 4-4 in the second set Mauresmo broke her Russian opponent to gain the opportunity to serve for a place in the semi-finals.

The 25-year-old secured to love and completed a 6-3 6-4 victory in one hour and nine minutes.

Afterwards Mauresmo said: “I was able to put a lot of pressure on her and she didn’t like it. I’m very happy to go through and hopefully try to make another step in the next match.”

Mauresmo also reached the semi-finals here last year and hopes the experience of her defeat to Serena Williams will stand her in good stead against either Davenport or Kuznetsova.

“I hope it’s going to help me a little bit. Last year I had two or three chances to close the match and hopefully if I get these chances this time I won’t let them go,” Mauresmo added.