Rain Can't Spoil Canadian Parade Into Semis by Christopher Gerby A steady downpour which began about 15 minutes before play would have begun at Central Park forced Friday's action indoors. Playing under a roof at the Schenectady Racquet & Fitness Club clearly suited some players better than others, as all five matches were completed in straight sets... Singles Quarterfinals: (7) Maureen Drake def. Nan Nan Liu -- 6-2, 6-0 Bethanie Mattek def. Ansley Cargill -- 6-1, 6-0 Marie-Eve Pelletier def. Varvara Lepchenko -- 6-1, 6-4 Janet Lee def. Cory Ann Avants -- 6-2, 6-3 Doubles Semifinal: (1) Cargill/Ditty def. Rao/Smashey -- 6-3, 6-4 The weather forecast for Saturday looks quite a bit more promising, so MVP Stadium may finally see action from the USTA challenger. Maureen Drake is scheduled for a noon start against fellow veteran Janet Lee. The oldest player in the draw, Drake is also the only seed still alive. Don't be fooled by the Toronto native's flurry of self-critical outbursts -- she hasn't come close to dropping a set in this tournament. The most unlikely semifinalist is Chinese Taipei's soft-spoken Lee, who lets her big serve do the talking. Deciding not to worry about results after coming into the tournament on a 10-set winless skein, Lee has regained some of the form that once saw her ranked among the world's Top 80. Drake won the only previous meeting between the two, defeating Lee some seven years ago at an indoor event in Chicago. Second up on stadium court will be a semifinal pitting the lone remaining American, Bethanie Mattek, against Montreal's darling, Marie-Eve Pelletier. With her positive attitude, aggressive game, and seemingly boundless determination, Mattek looks like a decent bet to advance on a court where she once faced Martina Navratilova in Team Tennis singles. Pelletier got in a bit of practice on that court herself Thursday afternoon and is no stranger to big occasions, having won three rounds of qualifying to reach the Australian Open main draw earlier this season. Mattek and Pelletier, who have never squared off before, look very evenly matched on paper with WTA rankings of 193 and 198, respectively. Rounding out Saturday's schedule will be the second doubles semifinal, featuring Casey Dellacqua and Nicole Sewell versus Janet Lee and Nan Nan Liu. Dellacqua and Sewell are the last representatives left from a gaggle of charismatic Aussies who brightened the challenger with their good humor. They're liable to face a stern test in the semis from Lee and Liu, who fought through injuries to win a three-set quarterfinal in Thursday's late afternoon heat.

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