Age no barrier for Pierce and Likhovtseva By Christian Lacaze
Wednesday, June 1, 2005

Seasoned campaigners Mary Pierce and Elena Likhovtseva battle for a place in the final of the French Open Thursday. The French former champ is just over 30, and the unfancied Russian a few months short, making the duo the oldest Grand Slam semi-final pairing since Martina Navratilova and Gigi Fernandez, at Wimbledon in 1994.

2000 champion and 1994 runner-up Mary Pierce is all set to play her fifth Grand Slam semi, and her third in Paris. The 21-seed has won all four so far, and that stat speaks volumes of the French-American's determination by the time she reaches this stage of a major competition. Pierce has been on a gigantic roll this year. Her quarter-final dismissal of Lindsay Davenport (6-3, 6-2) showed she really has the wind in her sails.

She has only dropped one set so far, against the dangerous Patty Schnyder (8), and has spent just 7 hours, 57 minutes on court. Beating the world No. 1 in a Grand Slam does not happen to a French girl every day or even every year (she was the last French player to do so, against Martina Hingis here in 2000). "Mary got off to a flyer and I just wasn't able to stop her," said Davenport after the match. "I was flying like an eagle," said Pierce somewhat poetically.

Providing her strapped ankle and left thigh hold up, eagle-eyed Mary obviously intends preying on a nervous Russian in their semi-final.

It would, after all, be only natural for 16-seed Elena Likhovtseva to feel the pressure as she prepares to compete in her first-ever Grand Slam semi. She has 46 Grand Slam tournament appearances behind her, and has only ever reached the quarters twice before.

The third round was her best placing previously at the French, so it goes without saying that Likhovtseva has exceeded all expectations this year. She confessed to falling foul of her nerves before overcoming teen sensation Sesil Karatantcheva in her quarter-final: "Throughout the first set I wasn't really on the court. It was my first-ever singles match on centre court." But the lady from Kazakhstan, trailing 6-2, 4-3 and a break, was able to call on her greater maturity to fight back.

Her win over fourth seed Elena Dementieva was a ding-dong battle over three hours and there too she showed her mettle to progress. Whether she has the self-belief to overturn Pierce, who will be playing in front of a hugely supportive home crowd, remains to be seen.

"Elena has beaten some good players. She's confident and playing well. She's moving well and taking the game to her opponent, so I'm expecting a really tough match. I need to take charge early" was Pierce's analysis of the match. The French woman will wind up her booming groundstrokes and set to work on blasting Likhovtseva off the court. Pierce's returns of Davenport's second serve were particularly devastating in the last round.

She won 71% of the points off the American's second ball and another bunch from the net, where she rounds off rallies efficiently. Above all though, her greater experience should work in her favour. There is nothing quite like a Grand Slam semi, and Mary's perfect record is a huge psychological advantage.

Fatigue could come into the equation should the match last three sets, but here again the stats work in Pierce's favour. Likhovtseva has spent 10 hours, 17 minutes on court so far, and is carrying a hip injury, too. Having said all that, the least-known of the eight top Russians on the tour has been everyone's underdog for a few rounds already, and insists she is optimistic about her chances: "I'll probably be less tense than in the quarter-final. I've beaten Mary a few times already, and even if she beat me last time, I know all about her game."

The two have met nine times already, with Pierce edging it 5-4. The most telling of those wins was the most recent, a 6-2, 6-2 drubbing she handed out to the Russian in the first round in Berlin.