It was not an easy victory for top-seeded Maria Sharapova, but the Russian overcame Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko to advance to the semifinals of the Bausch & Lomb Championships.
Sharapova recovered from squandering three set points in the first set tiebreak to beat the 10th seed 6-7 (9-11) 6-3 6-2. “Considering a couple of those set points I had, it should have been over in two sets,” said the world No.5.
Sharapova’s previous match at the Bausch & Lomb Championships was also a struggle, as she needed more than three hours to triumph over Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues.
Maria Sharapova will face Lindsay Davenport in Saturday’s semifinal. The American advanced with a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) victory over Hungary’s Agnes Szavay.
The other semifinal will include unseeded Frenchwoman Alize Cornet (who advanced with a 6-4 6-2 win over compatriot Virginie Razzano) and the winner of the match Amelie Mauresmo vs. Dominika Cibulkova. (source: BBC)
