Tennis: Top-seed upset in semifinals

It was not the greatest of days for the Australian husband and wife tennis duo of Sam and Jarmila Groth as they fell by the wayside in the semifinals of women's Challenger and men's Futures tennis tournaments today.

No 4 seed Sam Groth's 1-6 5-7 defeat to top seeded countryman Brydan Klein in the men's draw did not raise many eyebrows, but Jarmila Groth, the world No 42 and top seed, was stunned by the sixth seed and world No 255 Elitsa Kostova, of Bulgaria, losing 3-6 4-6 in the women's semifinals.

For Kostova, 20, it will be just her third final of a US$25,000 ($32,190) event and she will be aiming to make it her first win when she faces Japanese fifth seed Erika Sema, who beat countrywoman and seventh seed Kumiko Iijima 6-2 6-2.

Kostova showed plenty of intensity in her semifinal while Groth appeared off her game. There were glimpses of shots which have taken the Australian to a WTA singles title and past the first round of Grand Slams, but Kostova was desperate to win.

"No matter who I play and what size tournament I want to win," the Bulgarian said.

"I just want to play and win. Playing against someone with a high ranking is good and beating them is good for my game. I needed to beat someone ranked this high."

She will need to hit plenty of winners in tomorrow's final against Sema, who is consistent all over the court and has won two events of the same stature and been a finalist in another in three of her last tournaments.

The men's final of the US$15,000 ($19,314) Futures event will see Klein, ranked at 236 in the world, against second seeded Sebastian Rieschick, of Germany, who has a ranking of 302.

Rieschick defeated unseeded Australian James Duckworth 6-2 6-3 without much fuss.

Klein, 20, has always been a talent, winning the Australian Open junior event, but has been in hot water with Tennis Australia recently for disciplinary reasons.

His wristy game may be tested by the big-serving German, who actually beat Klein in the final of a Futures tournament in Western Australia last week.

- NZPA