Second seed Amelie Mauresmo moved into the semi-finals of the Paris Indoor Open with a 6-2 7-6 (7-2) win over eighth seed Magdalena Maleeva. French number one Mauresmo coasted in the first set before Bulgarian Maleeva fought back after breaking serve in the fifth game of the second set.
But Mauresmo, who won this tournament in 2001, dominated the tiebreak.
She now meets Russian fourth seed Nadia Petrova, who battled past Marion Bartoli of France 2-6 6-1 7-5.
"I dominated the first half, but then let her get back into the match. But it's good to have a bit of a battle before the next round," said Mauresmo after her sixth win in seven meetings with Maleeva.
Mauresmo is now the tournament favourite in the absence of two-time winner Serena Williams who withdrew from the event on Friday because of gastro-enteritis.
She became the second big name sidelined after Russian third seed Maria Sharapova opted out before the event began with an upper respiratory illness. Williams had been due to face the unseeded Russian Dinara Safina who now faces a final-four encounter with French teenager Tatiana Golovin.
Golovin progressed to the semi-finals after seventh seed Silvia Farina Elia retired from their last-eight game with a shoulder injury.
MMIX
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