Weary Williams struggles as Seles sparkles

Venus Williams, hampered by a recurrence of tendinitis in her left knee and "mentally exhausted", looked anything but the world No 1 elect as she struggled to reach the semi-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Open last night.

After taking only 17 minutes to win the first set against the Russian Anastasia Myskina, 6-0, Williams became erratic and tottered for 71 minutes before edging through, 6-0, 3-6, 6-4. Myskina, ranked No 47, won the first three and last three games of the second set, and recovered from 1-5 to 4-5 in the third set.

Williams, serving for the match for the second time, having held two match points on her opponent's serve at 5-1, double-faulted to 0-30 in the 10th game before winning the concluding three points, Myskina netting a service return on the third match point.

"I'm doing my best to hold myself together," said Williams, who is due to play Sandrine Testud, of France, the fourth seed, today for a place in the final. "I can't comment about my knee at this stage," Williams added, "but I am wearing a tape and it has been sore. I was feeling drained, not exactly tired. I didn't feel I would lose the match. I felt I was losing my touch."

Monica Seles, seeded to meet Williams in tomorrow's final, has only dropped seven games in her two matches in advancing to the semi-finals, displaying the confidence that enabled her to win last week's tournament in Doha and the determination that wore down Venus Williams in the quarter-finals of last month's Australian Open.

Her opponent in yesterday's quarter-finals here, Angeles Montolio, is studying Arabic, but this did not help the Spanish seventh seed to read Seles's game. Seles won, 6-0, 6-2, after 47 minutes, and will now play Amelie Mauresmo, of France. Surprisingly, the two games that went Montolio's way were breaks of serve, at 0-2 and 1-5 in the second set. The problem for the short 26-year-old from Barcelona was that she could not cope with Seles's potent returns and aggressive play in the wind.

Montolio, who speaks six languages, though not all of them fluently, is studying Arabic as a hobby. Why Arabic? She pointed to script on a poster on the interview room and said: "I think it's like art to write like this."

Seles, aged 28, has experienced exhilaration and terror in her career, and we can only guess how long she would have reigned as the world No 1 but for being stabbed by a deranged spectator during the Hamburg tournament in 1993.

Enjoying her tennis, and still hopeful of adding to her nine Grand Slam singles titles, Seles was asked to comment on Williams' ascent to No 1 next Monday and the loneliness associated with being at the summit of the game.

"If Venus had played more tournaments she would have been No 1 before now," Seles said. "She plays terrific tennis and is a great athlete, which is a wonderful combination. I've always got on well with her sister Serena, and I've got to know Venus.

"I think things have changed. When I came on the Tour, I thought the isolation thing was the way to go. Steffi [Graf] went through it. And the year I pulled out of Wimbledon at 17 [in 1991] was particularly difficult for me. That year I had no friends, or maybe only 10 per cent.

"The early 90s were different, because two players were so dominant. Now there are five players fighting for No 1, and it's just terrific for the game. It makes things more exciting and less predictable. There was a time when the top player might lose one game in a year. When you lose 10 games in a year instead of one, it brings you down to earth.

"I was very impressed how Martina [Hingis] dealt with being No 1. She was so nice, so normal, for No 1. I have many friends in tennis now. Mary Joe Fernandez is a particularly good friend. There are at least 10 to 15 players I know I will be friends with even when we finish playing."