Paris: Maria Sharapova closed in on the only major championship she hasn't won by beating 15th-seeded Andrea Petkovic of Germany 6-0, 6-3 on Wednesday to reach the French Open semifinals.
Already the owner of titles from Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and Australian Open, Sharapova is trying to become the 10th woman to complete a career Grand Slam. The seventh-seeded Russian is in the semifinals at Roland Garros for the second time; she lost there in 2007.
Sharapova won the first eight games against Petkovic, who's never reached a major semifinal. Petkovic needed 52 minutes to win a game, but she appeared to be making things more competitive when she broke to 3-all in the second set. Sharapova broke right back, then again to end the match.
Sharapova faces No. 6 Li Na next.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, June 01, 2011, 20:47