ROME - Eighth seed Patty Schnyder derailed Maria Sharapova's bid to become world number one when she beat the Russian 3-6 6-3 6-1 to reach the Rome Masters final on Saturday.
The 18-year-old top seed was aiming to replace Lindsay Davenport at the head of the rankings by triumphing in the Italian capital but struggled to find her rhythm as her Swiss opponent mixed up the pace and spin on her shots.
Schnyder now faces defending champion Amelie Mauresmo who earlier brushed aside another Russian, Vera Zvonareva, 6-2 6-4.
"No, I'm not disappointed," said Sharapova. "I've had a pretty good preparation (for the French Open starting on May 23). I'd rather play well at a grand slam.
"I just have to be more patient. I have to be ready and willing to hit an extra ball. In the third set, especially, I was too anxious to end the point. It's my instinct.
"I'll just go away and work hard next week and try and improve on the things I've learnt here."
Sharapova went into the semi-final as clear favourite, though the Swiss left-hander had pushed her close in a tight three-setter in their only previous meeting in Birmingham last year.
Schnyder, who reached the semi-finals of last week's Berlin Open, had dropped just 12 games on her way to reaching the same stage in Rome.
She twice recovered from a break down before a pair of backhand errors in the eighth game gave Sharapova the decisive break to close out the first set.
Instead of going on to dominate the match, however, the Russian faltered. She drifted a backhand wide and netted another to go 3-1 down in the second.
- REUTERS
Tennis: Sharapova's world number one hopes dashed
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