The first American in action on Thursday, Venus Williams, used her overwhelming power to beat French Open champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 6-3, 6-2 to set up a semifinal showdown with Tauziat.

Tauziat, Wimbledon runner-up, overcame 12 double-faults and 37 unforced errors to beat Davenport, who is ranked No 2 in the world and who could take over the top spot next week.

Since losing to Tauziat in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, Davenport had won four tournaments, also beating the Frenchwoman on the way to her US Open title earlier this month.

Tauziat turned the match at the start of the second set when she broke serve in the first game. In the third, the two traded breaks throughout the set. Serving for the match at 5-4, Tauziat saw Davenport rip a backhand passing shot that made it 5-5.

But Davenport againdropped her serve, allowing Tauziat to serve for the match for the second time. Davenport saved one match point with a lob but Tauziat fired her sixth ace to advance.

Williams, 18, served hard on the fast indoor surface of Munich's Olympiahalle and Sanchez-Vicario was unable to match the American's powerful ground strokes.