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Martin, Pioline to clash in semis

Seventh-seeded American Todd Martin rebounded from his exhausting fourth-round victory to beat upset-minded Czech Slava Dosedel and advance to the semi-finals of the U.S. Open last night.

The 29-year-old Martin, who was ill on Tuesday night when he came back from the brink to score an emotional five-set victory over ninth seed Greg Rusedski, held off the 95th-ranked Czech 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the Open semi-finals for just the second time in his long career.

''I felt better than I thought I would,'' said Martin, a 1994 semi-finalist. ''Today when I practiced I didn't think I could feel any worse.''

In Saturday's semis, Martin will face unseeded Frenchman Cedric Pioline, the 1993 runner-up who prevailed in a three hour and 22 minute thriller with Brazilian fifth seed Gustavo Kuerten 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6.

The other semi-final pits second-seeded French Open champion Andre Agassi against third-seeded Australian Open champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

A single service break decided each set in the Martin-Dosedel match.

But Martin only gave Dosedel one such opportunity -- in the final game of the second set. Other than that the American enjoyed a dominating performance from the service line, belting 22 aces and putting 74 per cent of his first serves in play.

For the women's semi-finals, it's the perfect script with the perfect cast, featuring No. 1 Martina Hingis, defending champion Lindsay Davenport, and sensational sisters Venus and Serena Williams.

In a pair of potentially scintillating semi-final scenarios, Venus takes on Hingis in a replay of the 1997 final, while Serena makes her Grand Slam final four debut against Davenport in a meeting of the hardest hitters in womens tennis.

Each of them is a fierce competitor who would never walk away satisfied by having reached the semi-finals. And all four are brimming with confidence and hungry for Grand Slam glory.

''When you go out there and you're playing someone who plays well, either you go to another level or accept a loss,'' said 19-year-old Venus Williams, winner of five titles this season. ''I don't like losing. It bothers me.''

Hingis, who won a third consecutive Australian Open title last January, is angling to keep her world supremacy intact by taking a sixth career Grand Slam trophy.

A second U.S. Open crown would also go a long way toward erasing the memory of her first-round loss at Wimbledon and her ignominious performance in her French Open final loss to Steffi Graf.

UNI