Kim Clijsters and Jennifer Capriati cruised through to the German Open semi-finals on Friday and will face each other in a repeat of their memorable 2001 French Open final.

Defending champion Justine Henin-Hardenne and Amelie Mauresmo of France also advanced to meet in the other semi-final on Saturday.

Top seed Clijsters of Belgium was the more impressive of the four on a miserable day with occasional drizzle, brushing aside seventh seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 6-0, 6-3.

Former world number one Capriati, seeded fourth and playing her first tournament of the year on the red clay of Europe, also looked comfortable in her 6-3, 6-3 win over unseeded Russian Elena Likhovtseva.

The 27-year-old American was staging a remarkable comeback from a personal crisis and a lean spell when she beat Clijsters 1-6, 6-4, 12-10 in the French Open final two years ago.

Capriati's match against Clijsters will be a welcome highlight for a tournament which has suffered from the absence of both Williams sisters.

"I always have these dogfights with her," Capriati said. "I'm feeling confident enough to win the tournament."

Clijsters, 19, lost her world number two spot to Venus Williams by taking a break last week. She will recapture it if she wins the tournament and might do by just reaching the final, depending on who she plays.

FORMER CHAMPIONS

The other semi-final will feature two former champions -- Henin-Hardenne won last year while Mauresmo was champion in 2001.

Both were made to work hard in their quarter-finals.

Belgian Henin-Hardenne, the third seed who moved into the number two spot in the draw after Venus Williams pulled out of the tournament with a stomach injury, had to dig deep to stop rising Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-4, 7-5.

The 18-year-old Zvonareva, who won her first WTA title last week in Croatia, was 5-1 down in the second set but then reeled off four games in a row before Henin-Hardenne responded and won the match.

Mauresmo, the fifth seed, also struggled before beating Uzbekistan's Iroda Tulyaganova 7-6, 6-4.

"I was a little bit tired and I had to push myself but I knew I could beat her," said Mauresmo. "It was just a matter of finding the right balance between being patient and being aggressive."

Mauresmo made her big breakthrough at Berlin, reaching the final as a qualifier in 1998 before winning in 2001, beating Capriati final.

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