The 2004 champion Maria Sharapova came from a set down to defeat world No.2 Svetlana Kuznetsova 5-7 6-2 6-2 at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid.
The first set was tight, both the players made one break, but towards the end of the set, when Sharapova served to take the match to a tiebreak, she made two errors, and before you knew it, Kuznetsova won the set on her first set point.
The other two sets were a different story. In the second set Sharapova broke her opponent twice; the first time frustrated Kuznetsova slipped two times in a row and failed to return the ball, while the second time she double-faulted and gave Sharapova the huge lead. In the deciding set, Sharapova was definitely the dominant player. Again she broke Kuznetsova two times, and again Kuznetsova was devastated. The first time Sharapova broke her compatriot without losing a point, while the second time Kuznetsova was leading 40-0 but lost her serve very quickly!
Having lost this match, Svetlana Kuznetsova failed to qualify for one of the semi-final berths at the Sony Ericsson Championships. This means that both Maria Sharapova and first-time qualifier Ana Ivanovic join Justine Henin in the semis.