Teens Wozniacki, Wickmayer reach semis

NEW YORK (AFP) - Teen upstarts Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium fought through the tension to reach their first Grand Slam semi-finals Wednesday with nerve-testing US Open triumphs.
Ninth seed Wozniacki, until now the top-ranked woman never in a Slam final eight, ousted 70th-ranked US teen Melanie Oudin 6-2, 6-2 while Wickmayer, never before past a Slam second round, beat Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko 7-5, 6-4.
The 19-year-olds will meet in a Friday semi-final with the winner to play for a US Open title Saturday against either defending champion Serena Williams, an 11-time Grand Slam champion, or Belgian Kim Clijsters, back after a two-year layoff to start a family.
Wozniacki shrugged off the cheers at Arthur Ashe Stadium for home-nation hero Oudin and snuffed out her comeback bid early in the second set.
"I was really nervous out there. I'm so happy I fought so well and was able to pull the match out," Wozniacki said. "It was important to keep positive. I knew if I showed emotion she was going to pick up on it."
Oudin, 17, was the giant killer of Flushing meadows, ousting former world number one Maria Sharapova, fourth seed Elena Dementieva and 13th seed Nadia Petrova after dumping former world number one Jelena Jankovic at Wimbledon.
But after a 6-1 run in Grand Slam matches where she lost the first set, "Oudini" at last found a trap she could not escape.
"I was a little bit fragile but Caroline made me like that," Oudin said. "She made me frustrated I had to hit a winner on her. Before I would get some free points because girls went for more. Caroline was extremely consistent."
Wickmayer, ranked 50th, joined compatriot and idol Clijsters as the first pair of unseeded women in the last four at the same US Open.
"Playing the semis in a Grand Slam is great," Wickmayer said. "It's amazing.
"When you get to the third or fourth round, you start surprising yourself, but actually, I've been staying pretty calm. I've worked really hard for this. Every match I can win. I'm really excited. I'm really happy."
Wozniacki became the first Danish man or woman to reach a Grand Slam semi-final, surpassing the 1978 Australian Open women's quarter-finals run by Dorte Ekner as her homeland's best showing.