Sharapova Wins as Top 4 Seeds Into Linz Semis

LINZ, Austria -- Although it was by no means easy, the Top 4 seeds all made it through to the semifinals of the $600,000 Generali Ladies Linz on Friday, defeating a quartet of dangerous quarterfinal opponents. Maria Sharapova had one of the toughest battles, tightening the screws late in each set for a clutch 76(3) 75 win over Ana Ivanovic.

Sharapova, the top seed, battled for nearly two hours against the equally-big-hitting No.5 seed, and was just a bit better at the tail ends of each set to clinch the victory. The biggest drama came late in the second set, when Ivanovic fought back from a break down to even things at 5-apiece, but Sharapova quickly regained the momentum to notch the victory in her very first meeting with her fellow teenager.

"When you play someone at a pretty high level for the first time, it takes a while to get used to it; you don't know what to expect from the first point," Sharapova said. "She seemed to be going for her shots often, and some came unbelievably hard and deep, and were pretty consistent in the first set. At some times they're like a loose cannon and you don't know what's going to happen -- that's difficult.

"I didn't really finish it off in both sets, but credit to her, she hung in there and played a good game in the first set to get back into it. Definitely in the second set I had two double faults and made a few sloppy errors. But I hung in there, too."

Sharapova is now 12-0 in quarterfinal matches this year on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour; only twice in what is now 14 events has she not made the semifinal round, those being Roland Garros (where she fell in the round of 16) and two weeks ago in Moscow (where, bothered by a right foot strain, she withdrew prior to her quarterfinal match against eventual champion Anna Chakvetadze).

The Russian's triumph over Ivanovic was her 14th win in a row since stepping onto the courts of the US Open -- she won her second career major there, and has since also won another prestigious event, the Tier I Z?Open last week. She maintains that despite a busy last few weeks she still remains eager to win.

"At this point I know mentally I'm not as fresh, but I feel like I'm match tough," Sharapova added. "I feel like coming back day after day, playing the matches, and so far, winning them."

Petrova cruises; Schnyder, Vaidisova grind out wins

Sharapova's Top 4-seeded counterparts were also winners on Friday, completing a dream final four roster at the Generali Ladies Linz. Nadia Petrova, seeded No.2, had by far the easiest time, blitzing an unseeded Samantha Stosur, 61 63. The Russian was superb on serve, winning three quarters of points on her delivery and allowing Stosur just a single look at a break point (which she saved); she also broke the Australian's serve a total of four times en route to closing it out.

No.3 seed Patty Schnyder reached her eighth semifinal of the year, and kept her hopes to qualify for the upcoming Sony Ericsson Championships alive, with a tricky 76(2) 64 win over Vera Zvonareva. Schnyder used all her court craft and guile to withstand the power game of her Russian foe, playing an exceptional tie-break to close out the first set, and sneaking out the lone second set break in the final game of the match.

It was all on the line for the Swiss; had she lost the match, she would have been out of the running for one of two remaining berths at the season-ending event in Madrid. Instead, she beat a player she had not beaten in two prior encounters.

Czech teen Nicole Vaidisova battled hard against one of this season's breakout stars, Jelena Jankovic, emerging victorious after over two hours, 57 76(5) 64. In the first set, the No.4-seeded Vaidisova held three set points leading 5-4 but squandered them all, allowing one of the game's grittiest competitors a chance to rally back and clinch a one set lead. After the two players held their serve through all 12 games of the second set, the No.6-seeded Jankovic very nearly staged another comeback, digging out of a 4-1 tie-break hole to bring it to 6-5; but Vaidisova came through, then took control of the third and deciding set on the strength of a single break of serve.

The match between Vaidisova and Jankovic was startlingly close but perhaps it was the Czech teen's serve that made the greatest difference: she fired a total of 20 aces to just eight for her Serbian opponent, who also made five double faults.

A pair of intriguing rivalries resume in Saturday's semis. Sharapova is 3-1 against Schnyder but they have always had tough battles; their first three encounters all went to three sets, and in their only prior meeting this year, the Russian nearly let a 5-1 second set lead slip in winning, 75 64, in the San Diego semis.

Petrova is 2-1 lifetime against Vaidisova, but again, all three encounters have been very tight, including their only other meeting so far this year, just a few weeks ago in the Moscow semifinals, where the Russian squandered six match points at 5-4 in the third set before eventually closing out the Czech, 60 46 76(3).
-- WTA