England, Jun21: Marion Bartoli of France reached the semifinals of the Eastbourne championships after beating seventh-seeded Lucie Safarova 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday.
Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic also advanced, winning the last five games to defeat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 6-3, 7-5 just before rain interrupted play.
Fourth-seeded Bartoli took time to overpower Safarova, breaking to lead 3-2, but then allowing her Czech opponent to level at 4-4.
Bartoli regained the lead by breaking for 5-4 with a backhand winner and then then fought off a break point as she served out the set. She dominated the second set, giving up just two points on her serve before wrapping up the match with an ace.
