The Japanese beat Eleni Daniilidou of Greece 6-1 6-3

The Japanese beat Eleni Daniilidou, of Greece, 6-1, 6-3.In the other semi-final, Justine Henin-Hardenne, of Belgium, the world No 1 and the defending champion, plays Meghann Shaughnessy, of the United States, who defeated Anastasia Myskina, the Russian fourth seed, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3.Henin-Hardenne had the next best thing to a walkover, 6-1, 6-0, against Conchita Martinez, of Spain, the former Wimbledon champion, in their quarter-final. Serving at 4-3, Williams failed to nail either of two game points to level the set and then narrowly missed a forehand when she was a break point down. Kuznetsova served the match out after 56 minutes.”I know Venus is not on the top of her level now,” Kuznetsova said, “but I was able to stay relaxed and move her around so she could not play her shots.”Kuznetsova will today play the fifth-seeded Ai Sugiyama for a place in tomorrow’s final. Having recovered the break in the next game, however, Kuznetsova found a confident rhythm and put Williams, the former world No 1, on the defensive.After a double-fault to go 3-1 down, Williams lost six of the next seven and did not show signs of a recovery until the crowd voiced support for her when she was 3-0 down in the second set.

Hopefully at the Nasdaq that time will be gone.”In the opening game yesterday, Kuznetsova seemed too nervous to make an impact and a double-fault gave Williams the chance to break. Williams then held to love and broke to reduce the deficit.Although Kuznetsova broke again for 4-2, Williams returned well enough to win the next four points. “It’s difficult to play a tournament of this calibre without the preparation I’m going home to get the rest and the practice I need. My next tournament will be the Nasdaq [in Key Biscayne, Florida, on 22 March].”Williams, who defeated Kuznetsova in straight sets in their only previous match, in the first round at the 2003 Australian Open, acknowledged that the Russian is “a good player who played well and has come a long way since we last played”.

But she added: “People know how I can play in normal circumstances If you’re going to get me, now’s the time. Success always came in cycles in Svetlana Kuznetsova’s household in St Petersburg. Her father, Alexandr, coached five Olympic and world cycling champions and also trained her mother, Galina Tsareva, a six-times cycling world champion and the holder of 20 world records, and her brother, Nikolai, a silver medallist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The latter will face stiff competition for a place given that Leicester’s hugely talented back Ollie Smith is also included in the A squad.Woodward will name his 22-man match-day squad on Monday with the unlucky four players almost certainly gaining automatic selection in the A team.One England player who will not be featuring in England’s remaining Six Nations matches is the Sale fly-half Charlie Hodgson. He is still recovering from a knee operation to repair damaged cartilage.Sale look to have put their recent troubles behind them by announcing last night that Jim Mallinder has agreed to a new three-year contract as coach, but he will work under “an international director of rugby”. They expect to announce the appointment next week, the former Gloucester coach Philippe Saint-Andr?eing the favourite.. Tindall has all the attacking qualities for the position but more importantly he possesses the defensive skills required to keep the likes of Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy under a tight rein.Tindall is one of five players who have been drafted in, one of those being the fit-again Joe Worsley of Wasps.