SELES, MAURESMO ADVANCE,
TAUZIAT OUSTED AT ITALIAN OPEN IN ROME

May 19, 2000

ROME - With all quarterfinal matches going the distance today at the $1.08 million Italian Open in Rome, Monica Seles and Amelie Mauresmo survived while Nathalie Tauziat did not.

Seles, seeded fifth, outdueled 17-year-old Jelena Dokic of Australia, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, to advance to her fourth straight WTA Tour semifinal and fifth overall this season.

One day after knocking off fourth seed Mary Pierce, Mauresmo eliminated her second straight top-10 player as she held off former French Open champion and sixth seed Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.

Seles and Mauresmo will face unseeded opponents in Saturday's semifinals. Colombian qualifier Fabiola Zuluaga posted the biggest upset, toppling second seed Nathalie Tauziat of France, 3-6, 6-0, 6-4, to reach her first semifinal of the year.

Ranked No. 69 in the world, the 21-year-old Zuluaga will battle Mauresmo for a berth in Sunday's final.

American Corina Morariu, the top-ranked doubles player in the world, has proven herself in singles this week. She ended Italian Giulia Casoni's run in the tournament by rallying for a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory. Casoni advanced to the quarters on Thursday when top seed Lindsay davenport withdrew with a back injury.

Morariu, who won her only career singles title on clay last year in Bol, Croatia, will encounter Seles in an all-American semifinal.

A former world No. 1, Seles has come back from a broken foot to win two tournaments this season and increase her career total to 46. She won this event in 1990 by defeating Martina Navratilova, 6-1, 6-1, and was a finalist the next two years.

"It was the first time that I beat Martina, someone that I really admired growing up, and suddenly it was a really easy match," Seles said. "That match will hold a very special place in my heart. It's up there with winning the French Open."

Mauresmo, last year's Australian Open runner-up, reached her second straight semifinal at this event. She claimed her second career singles title at Sydney, Australia by defeating Martina Hingis in the semifinals and Davenport in the final. The 20-year-old also was runner-up at Bol two weeks ago.

"Mentally I'm a little bit stronger," Mauresmo said. "In one year I learned a lot with all the tournaments I've played. I hope it's going to make a difference tomorrow."

First prize is $166,900.