Mary Pierce advances to Semi-finals

Mary Pierce is reliving the best parts of her youth.

Pierce continued her impressive resurgence with a commanding victory over friend and fellow Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo on Wednesday, advancing to the semifinals of the Open with a 6-4, 6-1 victory. Pierce will play either Lindsay Davenport or sixth-seeded Elena Dementieva on Friday.

It's Pierce's first trip to the Open semifinals in 13 appearances dating back to 1991.

"It's amazing," Pierce said. "I'm 30, 17th year on the tour, and there's still firsts for me. That's pretty exciting."

Davenport, seeded second but ranked No. 1, and Dementieva, a runner-up here last year, play Wednesday night, followed by an all-American quarterfinal between Andre Agassi and James Blake. Another American, Robby Ginepri, played Guillermo Coria on Wednesday afternoon.

The 30-year-old Pierce is the oldest woman remaining at the Open, but she's playing with the vigor and promise she had in her youth. The two-time Grand Slam winner has reconciled with her father, and though her brother, David, is her coach, former coach Nick Bollettieri is working as an adviser.

David Pierce and Bollettieri were both in Pierce's box Wednesday.

"It's totally different, everything that happened in my life, the injuries all the things that happened to me," said Pierce, whose last major title was at the French Open in 2000. "I'm so grateful."

Pierce made a surprising run at the French Open, reaching her first Grand Slam final in five years. But she choked back tears and apologized to the fans after being routed by Justine Henin-Hardenne 6-1, 6-1, the worst drubbing in a French final since 1988.

The loss only fueled her desire, though. She reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon before losing to eventual champion Venus Williams, and her victory in San Diego was her second title since 2000.

And now the 12th-seeded Pierce is playing her best tennis in years. She hasn't dropped a set in five matches, and has beaten two top-10 players here. Her victory over Henin-Hardenne that got her to the quarterfinals was her first over the Belgian -- she'd never even been able to win a set off of her in their first four meetings.

She reached another milestone against the third-seeded Mauresmo, beating her for the first time in their last five meetings.

Mauresmo, who briefly reached No. 1 a year ago, came to the Open hoping she could finally shed the label of one of the best players never to win a major, a title she shares with Kim Clijsters. But she had no chance against Pierce.

Pierce dictated the pace of the entire match, mixing shots and keeping Mauresmo off-balance. Mauresmo made 19 unforced errors, including ones to give Pierce two breaks in the first set.

Mauresmo seemed to get flustered in the second set with back-to-back double-faults, giving Pierce another break opportunity. Pierce converted, then served to go up 3-0. Mauresmo won a game, but Pierce won the last three to clinch the match.

By Nancy Armour, AP National Writer

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