Category:[world] [Sports] [Tennis]

World number two Maria Sharapova advanced to the semi-finals of the French Open for the first time by brushing aside fellow 20-year-old Russian Anna Chakvetadze 6-3 6-4 on Tuesday.

Second seed Sharapova, who feels more at ease on faster surfaces and had never gone beyond the quarter-finals on four previous visits to Roland Garros, needed just 78 minutes to beat her compatriot, seeded ninth.

Chakvetadze, who lost to Sharapova in the quarter-finals of this year's Australian Open, bowed out by firing a backhand return wide on the first match point.

Former Wimbledon champion Sharapova, who is hampered by a sore shoulder and said here she felt like a "cow on ice" on clay, will face Serbia's Ana Ivanovic for a place in the final.

Sharapova wins all-Russian battle to reach last four(Over)
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