Mauresmo stumbles in Paris

Former world number one Amelie Mauresmo was beaten 3-6 6-3 6-3 by top seed Anna Chakvetadze in the quarter-finals of the Open Gaz de France on Friday.

The number four seed has struggled for form since an emergency appendectomy in March forced her to miss two months.

Despite enduring a third-round upset at last month’s Australian Open, Mauresmo appeared to be rebuilding her game as evident by her 6-1 6-2 dismantling of Julie Ditty in the opening round.

Her second-round match Thursday at was a virtual walkover as Eleni Daniilidou retired with a viral illness while trailing 3-0.

Mauresmo had a 3-0 record against Chakvetadze coming into the match and looked set to continue her dominance as she took the first set.

But Chakvetadze stormed back to advance, booking a semi-final with number three seed Marion Bartoli, a 6-1 7-6 (7/3) winner over fellow Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano.

Bartoli, perhaps best known for her stunning defeat of world number one Justine Henin in the Wimbledon semi-finals last season, has not won on Tour since November 2006.

Bartoli will have her hands full with Chakvetadze, who won the only previous meeting between the two players.

In the bottom of the draw, seventh-seeded Hungarian Agnes Szavay pushed into the semi-finals with a 7-6 (7/4) 6-1 win over second seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.

The 19-year-old, who won her first two singles titles last season in Palermo and Beijing, will face number four seed Elena Dementieva of Russia for the first time in Saturday’s semi-final.

An eight-time winner on Tour, Dementieva advanced with a 7-5 6-2 victory against Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko.