Friday, April 25, 2014

Sharapova takes another step toward Stuttgart final

Maria Sharapova defeated top seed Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets in Stuttgart today, which puts the two-time defending champion into the semifinals. It's funny--years ago, we might have assumed that Radwanska had more of a chance on clay and Sharapova on grass, but now the reverse is more likely. Sharapova had a time of it at the end, though, winning on her eighth match point.

Sharapova's opponent in the next round will be Sara Errani, who won her quarterfinal against Carla Suarez Navarro. Suarez Navarro retired in the middle of the third set because of a wrist injury.

The other semifinal match will be Serb-to-Serb. Former Stuttgart champion Jelena Jankovic will take on Ana Ivanovic. Jankovic defeated Alisa Kleybanova in straight sets, and Ivanovic defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. Both Ivanovic and Kuznetsova are former French Open champions. Ivanovic is 8-3 against Jankovic, and 2-1 against her on clay.

Jankovic and Kleybanova are playing doubles together and have reached the semifinals, in which they will play top seeds Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci.

No comments: