In front of a crowd of more than 500 at the Arlington Park Hilton in Arlington Heights, Ill., Fisher dominated a red-hot Thornfeldt from beginning to end. "In a huge tournament like this, you've got to perform great and I started off really well," Fisher said immediately following her win.

Fisher jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, which was never threatened, although she did give Thornfeldt several opportunities to get back in the match. Unfortunately, Thornfeldt never found her rhythm.

"I played terribly, never got comfortable and I wasn't able to put any heat on her," said a disappointed Thornfeldt. Fisher will meet the winner of the upcoming Jennifer Chen/Akimi Kajitani match.

The first men's semifinal was decidedly more grueling. Taiwan's Kun Fang Lee jumped out to a 5-1 lead over defending champion Ralf Souquet, yet by the eighth game, Souquet found his rhythm and appeared headed for another comeback victory. Souquet broke for the match at 8-6 (all races now are to 9) when Lee took a more aggressive attitude. His billiard off the 1 ball that sunk the 9 ball in the 15th game swung the momentum back to him for the duration of the match. "I was feeling really nervous after I los t the lead," said Lee, "but I knew that if I had the chance to get back to the table, I would have a good chance to win."

Souquet, however, felt his championship form betray him several times throughout the match. "At the beginning and at the end I played badly," said a disappointed Souquet, "but in the middle I played well. He got lucky on some shots, too." Lee will face either Reed Pierce or Johnny Archer for the World Championship.