Clay success for Anne is Britain

LONDONER Anne Keothavong became the first British woman to reach a WTA Tour clay-court semi-final in 26 years with a crushing victory in Warsaw.

The 25-year-old thrashed Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-0, 6-1 to match the feat of Jo Durie in 1983.

Despite two previous WTA semi-finals this year, Keothavong is bidding for a first-ever final appearance when she takes on Maria Sharapova’s conqueror, Alona Bondarenko, in the last four today.

She said: “I think I can be really proud that I’ve reached the semis on clay, which is my least favourite surface. I’m finding my form and I’m getting used to competing at this level. It would mean an awful lot to get to a first final.”

Keothavong took just 70 minutes to destroy the Romanian qualifier, who beat Jelena Dokic in the first round. She won the first 11 games, only for Olaru to avoid the double bagel.

Regardless of the result today, Keothavong will now rise into the top 50 in the world rankings – Britain’s highest since Durie in 1984.