NEW YORK, NOV 22: Eighth seed Irina Spirlea of Romania survived three match points to hold off Mary Joe Fernandez and reach the semifinals of the Chase Championships last night. Fernandez, who stunned third seed Lindsay Davenort in the first round, looked about to claim her second seeded scalp of the tournament, but blew a 5-3 third-set lead to fall 5-7 6-2 7-5.Earlier, second seed Jana Novotna chipped, charged and volleyed her way past an erratic Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and into the semifinals with a 6-4 3-6 6-1 victory. The third-ranked Novotna, in her ninth consecutive year-end championships and third semifinal here, will tangle with Spirlea.In the other semifinal, Mary Pierce will take on her Fed Cup teammate Nathalie Tauziat.
