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MELBOURNE - Top seed Maria Sharapova reached her third successive Australian Open tennis semifinal with a hard fought 7-6 7-5 victory over fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze today.
Struggling to find her rhythm, Sharapova, 19, was broken twice in each set and her court speed was often exposed by the 12th seed before she prevailed in two hours and 14 minutes of scrappy action on Rod Laver Arena.
"I thought I was up and down, a bit scratchy," Sharapova said after dispatching her third compatriot of the tournament.
"When you're a set and a break up it's still tough, I'm glad I got through."
The warning signs were there early for Sharapova when she fell 0-40 behind in her first service game, but she hit her way out of trouble before Chakvetadze made the first break to lead 4-2.
Three successive breaks followed as both players tried to impose themselves, Chakvetadze looking painfully nervous on some easy putaways while Sharapova's unforced error count steadily went the wrong way.
The duo got their service games together to reach the tiebreak which US Open champion Sharapova clinched 7-5.
Chakvetadze called for a medical timeout after that setback for treatment on her shoulder and Sharapova pounced to take a 2-0 lead in the second.
As Sharapova's screams and grunts rose in intensity, Chakvetadze quietly went about her business with growing confidence.
Both players' fathers grew more animated as the match became tighter, Sharapova's coach and mentor Yuri incurring his daughter a code violation for coaching at one point.
Chakvetadze broke the Sharapova serve again and held for 2-2 but the top seed clung on in a tough fifth game before requesting a medical timeout of her own to tape up a sore foot.
They shared breaks again, Sharapova missing her first match point at 4-5, before her experience shone through on a third match point when Chakvetadze's forehand finding the net.
"Maria won today, she played better than me," Chakvetadze said.
"My shoulder was tight in the morning. I should have called the trainer earlier."
Sharapova will play Belgium's Kim Clijsters or Martina Hingis, of Switzerland, for a place in Saturday's final.
- REUTERS
