Lindsay Davenport lost her number one ranking after being knocked out of the Australian Open yesterday while unseeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis extended his extraordinary run to reach the last four.

Eighth seed Justine Henin-Hardenne beat Davenport 2-6 6-2 6-3 to join Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals and ensure Kim Clijsters, or possibly Amelie Mauresmo, takes over as the new number one when the next rankings are released on Monday.

A former world junior number one currently ranked 54th, Baghdatis followed his shock win over second seed Andy Roddick with a gritty 6-4 6-2 4-6 3-6 6-3 victory over seventh seed Ivan Ljubicic.

The Cypriot played superbly in the first two sets, unleashing his full range of shots to grab a two-set lead before Ljubicic fought back to win the next two and force the match into a decider.

Baghdatis fended off two break points in a tense third game then ripped a cross-court forehand past Ljubicic to gain the decisive break in the next game.

Baghdatis held on and will now play fourth seed David Nalbandian tomorrow after the Argentine posted a clinical 7-5 6-0 6-0 victory over unseeded Fabrice Santoro.

The 20-year-old is the eighth youngest man to reach the semi-finals in Australia, sparking wild celebrations among Melbourne's Greek community and back home in Cyprus.

"I don't really know but I think it's getting crazy, I think they're all watching the match," he said.

Sharapova, seeded fourth in the women's draw, booked her place in the semi-finals for the second year in a row with a 7-6 6-4 win over Nadia Petrova in an all-Russian affair.

Davenport said she was more disappointed at missing another opportunity to win the Open than losing the top ranking.

Second seed Clijsters plays Switzerland's former world number one Martina Hingis today while French third seed Mauresmo faces another Swiss, seventh seed Patty Schnyder.

Clijsters will be the next number one unless she loses to Hingis and France's Mauresmo wins her first grand slam title.

Henin-Hardenne, 23, is now a firm favourite to win her second Australian Open after a knee injury prevented her from defending her title last year.

The Belgian had strolled through her first four matches this year without dropping a set but was in trouble early on against Davenport.

"I had the chance there after the first set, she wasn't looking so good," Davenport said.

The dogged Belgian tightened her game in the second set to force the match into a third then wore down Davenport with her superior speed.

"I'm very happy about this win because I think I came back from a very bad situation," Henin said.

"It's great if I could keep fighting. I just played every point 100 per cent."

Sharapova also drew on her fighting qualities in a scrappy match with sixth seed Petrova that included nine service breaks and 85 unforced errors.

Petrova twice served for the opening set and held two set points in the tie-breaker but Sharapova's sheer determination proved the difference.

While the two women's matches were littered with errors, Nalbandian was a model of composure and consistency as he stormed into his first Australian Open semi-final.

The 2002 Wimbledon runner-up, who beat Roger Federer to win the end-of-season Masters Cup in November, has now reached the semi-finals of all four grand slam events and is growing in confidence.

"I feel that I can keep going, so I have to keep working, keep playing, keep focus," Nalbandian said.

Today QFs: (men) Kiefer vs Grosjean; Federer vs Davydenko. (Women) Mauresmo vs Schnyder; Clijsters vs Hingis.

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