Stosur, Schmiedlova reach semifinals at Gastein Ladies

BAD GASTEIN, Austria (AP) Samantha Stosur advance to her second semifinal of the season by beating Danka Kovinic of Montenegro 6-3, 6-2 Friday at the Gastein

BAD GASTEIN, Austria (AP) Samantha Stosur advance to her second semifinal of the season by beating Danka Kovinic of Montenegro 6-3, 6-2 Friday at the Gastein Ladies.

The second-seeded Australian, who won her seventh career title in Strasbourg in May, avoided break points to set up a semifinal match against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia.

A week after winning in Bucharest, the seventh-seeded Schmiedlova kept her winning run going by defeating Annika Beck of Germany 6-2, 6-3.

In a second-round match moved from Thursday because of thunder, Karin Knapp of Italy beat Johanna Larsson of Sweden 6-3, 6-3.

The third-seeded Knapp was scheduled to play Polona Hercog of Slovenia in the quarterfinals later Friday.