Hu Na Loses in Quarterfinals to Piatek

Mary Lou Piatek defeated San Diego’s Hu Na, 6-1, 6-2, in the quarterfinals Thursday of the $75,000 Virginia Slims of San Diego Tennis Tournament at the San Diego Hilton Beach and Tennis Resort.

Piatek will play the winner of the Wendy Turnbull-Betsy Nagelsen match, which will be played at 7 tonight.

Turnbull, the top seed, is the only seeded player remaining in the tournament following Rosalyn Fairbank’s loss to Annabel Croft. Croft, from Britain, defeated the No. 6 seed, 6-0, 6-3. Croft dominated most of the match with a consistent cross-court backhand.

Croft will face the winner of the Beth Herr-Melissa Gurney match in the semifinals. Gurney and Herr will play at noon today.

Piatek, once the world’s top-ranked junior player, had no problem beating the former Chinese star. Piatek took advantage of Hu Na’s early serving problems for two break while holding her own serve to go up, 4-0. Piatek won the first set with a third break of service, aided by a pair of double faults by Hu Na.

Piatek also took control in the second set, building a 4-1 lead before Hu Na’s serve-and-volley tactics started to pay off.

The best Hu Na could do was trade games with Piatek, as each player held service through the final four games. The final game was the closest of the match as Hu Na held off match point three times before hitting a backhand wide, giving Piatek the victory.

The winner of Sunday’s final will collect $12,000.