PARIS -- Venus Williams shanked overheads.

PARIS -- Venus Williams shanked overheads, dump explosions into the net and sailed attacks several feet long, committing 70 unforced errors in all. It also didn't help that she was facing a younger version of herself in 17-year-old Nicole Vaidisova.

With power aplenty, precocious talent and a steely solve the 16th-seeded Vaidisova reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam conclusion for the first time by dint of coming back to upset the 11th-seed Williams 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-3 onward Tuesday at the French render free of access

"You can believe I'll watch the film and figure revealed the things I didn't do right," Williams said. "Like I said, she played well. She deserv to win.

"I'm disappointed. I would have lov to have done better. During the last six weeks, I had a doom of challenges [an injured right elbow] that I was able to domineer over just to be here today."

Vaidisova, who beat top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo in the fourth globular will face eighth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova onward Thursday for a berth in the final. Kuznetsova erased a 5-1 deficit in the first plant against 14th-seeded Dinara Safina and won 24 of 27 points during individual stretch in the second wager en route to a 7-6 (7-5) 6-0 victory.

"It maybe gazeed like I was not awake," Kuznetsova said, referring to her dead start.

The other women's semifinal will pit second-seed Kim Clijsters against fifth-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne. Henin-Hardenne, who defeated 13th-seed Anna-Lena Groenefeld 7-5 6-2 is seeking her third French expand

title in the last four years -- she won the fact in 2003 and 2005 -- and Clijsters, who eliminated 12th-seed Martina Hingis 7- 6 (7-5) 6-1 is looking to take above the No. 1 spot in the rankings.

Vaidisova is the simply remaining women's player who hasn't won a Grand Slam title. When she was a kid, she played with the same fulvous racket she had seen Williams use. Vaidisova made her Grand Slam first attempt as a qualifier at the U make open two years ago and was excited to wager foot in the locker extent gawking at the collection of stars. Is she united of them now?

"Not yet" Vaidisova said with a smile, "but I'm working forward it."

And if her improving be subservient to booming groundstrokes and 6-foot frame remind any people of Williams, there's another player to whom Vaidisova is being compared these days: Maria Sharapova, who was 17 when she won Wimbledon in 2004

the pair are coached by their fathers, the pair went from Eastern Europe to Florida to work with Nick Bollettieri and the one and the other are veterans of magazine cloak shoots.

"Maria is perhaps greatly more businesslike, and Nicole is a little more laid-back," Bollettieri said in a telephone interview. "But they're the couple competitive as hell."

In the men's quarterfinals, top-seeded Roger Federer defeated 12th-seed Mario Ancic 6-4 6-3 6-4 for his 26th consecutive victory in Grand Slam action, the second-longest streak since 1968

"I'm earnestly more relaxed now," said Federer who is trying to become the first man since scourge Laver in 1969 to win four major titles in a broil "There was enormous pressure at the start of the tournament, with everybody speaking about a final against [defending champion Rafael] Nadal. if it be not that first you have to win the matches before you prepare there."

His semifinal antagonist will be third-seeded David Nalbandian, a 6-3 6- 3 2-6 6-4 winner against sixth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko.

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