Sharapova grinds into last four in Paris

Wednesday, 4 June 2014 00:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

REUTERS: Maria Sharapova again showed her resilience when she recovered from a poor start to down up-and-coming Spaniard Garbine Muguruza 1-6 7-5 6-1 on Tuesday and reach the French Open semi-finals.

The 2012 champion and last year’s runner-up, who will meet Eugenie Bouchard of Canada in the last four, lost the first four games as she conceded the first set before regaining her composure against a player who knocked holder Serena Williams out in the second round. An early break in the second set was all the seventh-seeded Russian needed to gain momentum. The match turned Sharapova’s way when she held for 3-1 in the third set after saving five break points in a game that lasted over 10 minutes. “That was one of the most important games in the third set after that game I gained more confidence. That was the turning point,” she told reporters. Once a self-proclaimed ‘cow on ice’ on clay, Sharapova will be playing her fourth consecutive Roland Garros semi-final, a feat she also achieved at the Australian Open from 2005-08. Under threatening skies on court Philippe Chatrier, she trailed 4-0 and when she threatened a comeback in the set, Muguruza relied on her big first serve to keep the Russian at bay.