ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Anastasia Myskina of Russia and Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany advanced to the semifinals of the Istanbul Cup on Thursday.
Second-seeded Groenefeld defeated Croatia's Karolina Sprem 6-4, 6-4; while top-seeded Myskina beat sixth-seeded Catalina Castano of Colombia 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).
"It was a terrible match, the most difficult of the season," Myskina told CNN-Turk television. "I played really badly, there were so many mistakes that I wouldn't normally make.
"I am happy, I'm over with it, and I go back to the hotel and relax," she added.
Myskina will face ninth-seeded Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands, who beat Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus 6-1, 6-0.
Fourth-seeded Shahar Peer of Israel defeated Italy's Mara Santangelo 6-1, 6-2 and will play Groenefeld on Friday.
This is only the second Istanbul Cup, which is a tuneup for the French Open starting May 28.
