Daniela Hantuchova eased through to the Eastbourne semi-finals, then set her sights on lifting the title for her Sussex coach.

The Slovakian third seed recovered from another slow start to beat American qualifier Amy Frazier 7-6, 6-1 in the quarter-finals of the Britannic Asset Management Championships.

A second tour title this year and first on grass now beckons for 19-year-old Hantuchova as she is the only seed left.

The top two, Jelena Dokic and Sandrine Testud, went out on Wednesday and Silvia Farina Elia (4) and Meghann Shaughnessy (5) perished yesterday.

It would be a poignant success for Hantuchova's coach Nigel Sears, who lives nearby at Lewes.

"It definitely would be great to win a tournament at what is basically his home and that is what I am trying to do," she said.

"I feel very confident. I know I have a chance, but I'm taking it match by match and I'm not looking too far ahead."

Hantuchova dropped the opening set in round two against Martina Navratilova. She looked like doing the same to Frazier when she trailed 4-1 and 5-3.

The world No.13 saved three set points and never looked back, winning ten of the last 12 games.

"In both matches I didn't start well and wasn't serving well," she admitted. "I was really happy to get back into the first set and hang in there. I was trying to fight for every ball.

"The second set was much better. I think it was just because I served badly. On grass you cannot afford to do that."

Sears is helping the lanky Hantuchova adapt to the unique demands of grass. "You need to get really low and that's what I am trying to do.

"Having an English coach is an advantage for me. That helps a lot. He told me to play my game and be aggressive.

"I didn't come to the net as much as I should, because I was not making enough serves and Amy was hitting the ball very fast.

"That's something I need to improve and we are working on it in practise.

"I'm really confident at the net, but first I need to get there. I've done a lot of work on my volleying in the last couple of months."

Hantuchova could not wish for a finer role model than Navratilova, her mentor on tour. She will be talking to the Wimbledon legend prior to her second appearance at the All England club next week.

"It's great that she is still around in tournaments and playing doubles," said Hantuchova. "Every time we have a chance we speak together about many different things."

Frazier has at least stemmed her freefall this week. The 29-year-old had not been beyond the second round of a tournament this year and her ranking has plummeted from a career-high of 13 to 76.

Hantuchova's semi-final opponent today is another young prospect, 20-year-old Russian Anastasia Myskina. She breezed past Eastbourne specialist Anne Kremer from Luxembourg 6-2, 7-5.

Toiling Italian Farina Elia was trounced 6-1, 6-0 in only 52 minutes by another Eastbourne expert, Chanda Rubin. The American, plagued by knee problems, was runner-up in 1995 and is through to her third semi-final in succession.

"It's been really great coming back here and playing well again," said Rubin. "It's nice coming to a tournament where you have done well before."

Rubin meets another rising rookie in Daja Bedanova. The 19-year-old Czech followed up her second round win against Dokic by upsetting Shaughnessy 7-6, 6-2. The presence of Hantuchova, Myskina and Bedanova bodes well for the future of the women's game, if not for the likes of Mary Pierce.

The French star's preparations for Wimbledon suffered another setback with a 7-6, 6-1 defeat by Evie Dominikovic in the Eastbourne Cup for first round and qualifying losers.

Order of play today (1,30, Centre Court): Hantuchova v Myskina, Rubin v Bedanova.