Former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova of Russia reached the semifinals of the Women Tennis Association (WTA) tennis tournament in Indian Wells, where $4.5 million in prize money is up for grabs.
In a quarterfinal match on Thursday that lasted almost two and a half hours the 16th seeded Russian defeated unseeded Peng Shuai of China 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.
“She’s really aggressive and you’re not the one being aggressive, it becomes dangerous. That’s what happened today. But the most important thing is I got myself together, focused and regrouped. The match is never over until the last point and I stayed really strong,” Sharapova was quoted as saying on the WTA Website after the match.
This is the first time Sharapova has reached the semifinals of a WTA tournament since last August, when she reached the final in Cincinnati and lost to Belgium’s Kim Klijsters.
Sharapova’s next opponent in her battle for the spot in the final is current World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.
Marion Bartoli of France and Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer will clash in the other semifinal match of the tournament.
MOSCOW, March 18 (RIA Novosti)