Clijsters battles through

Clijsters had to work hard for the win in France

Top seed Kim Clijsters had to come from a set down before reaching the semi-finals of the Paris Open.

The Belgian lost the first set to Italian Silvia Farina Elia but came through to win 3-6 7-5 6-3.

But second seed Elena Dementieva was beaten 6-4 6-4 by France's Tatiana Golovin, who will meet compatriot Mary Pierce in the last four.

Unseeded Russian Dinara Safina claimed a 6-2 4-6 6-4 win over Italian fifth seed Francesca Schiavone.

Clijsters trailed 6-3 5-2 to Farina Elia before she finally found her rhythm.

The Belgian clawed her way back into the match to win the second set, broke serve at 3-3 in the decider and sealed victory on her first match point.

"I knew it was going to be a hard game, particularly because I lacked match practice," said Clijsters.

"I made too many mistakes in the first set because I was trying to win the points too quickly."

Pierce had an easier time reaching the semi-finals after beating Russia's Elena Bovina 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 19 minutes.

Pierce raced into a 4-0 lead in the first set and never looked back after that.