Defending champion Elina Svitolina also advances to Italian Open semis
Friday 18 May 2018 21:56, UK
Maria Sharapova battled past world No 6 Jelena Ostapenko in a three-set, three-hour epic to reach the Italian Open semi-finals.
In the duo's first-ever meeting, Sharapova prevailed 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-5 after three hours and 13 minutes on court at Fora Italico.
The three-time champion in Rome will play top seed Simona Halep, who made sure of retaining the world No 1 ranking and secured the top seeded spot at Roland Garros by beating Caroline Garcia 6-2 6-3.
"It was nice to close things down in that way after a long match," Sharapova said. "I didn't have a great first set, I kept going. I like to smile about it.
"I appreciate this new chapter of my career, I still have lots of passion for the sport and for this life. I realise I'm towards the end of my career so I appreciate it."
Ostapenko took a 3-0 lead in the first set, but she failed to serve it out at 5-4 after being broken to love, having squandered two set points in the game before.
The French Open champion earned two more set points again on the Sharapova serve, but the Russian rallied to level 5-5.
A topsy-turvy end to the set continued, as 20-year-old Ostapenko broke but could not serve it out for a second time, though she eventually prevailed in the tie-break 8-6.
The pair traded early breaks in the second set, and did so again as Sharapova squandered the advantage when 4-2 up. However, the five-time Grand Slam champion went on to level the match after breaking Ostapenko in the 10th game.
The decider remained on serve until Sharapova broke in the sixth game, but the 31-year-old was broken back by Ostapenko when serving for the match at 5-3.
Two match points came and went for Sharapova after two errors, but two games later she broke Ostapenko's resolve to finally seal a semi-final spot.
Earlier in the day, defending champion Elina Svitolina advanced to the semi-finals after securing a 6-4 6-4 victory over world No 12 Angelique Kerber.
World No 4 Svitolina overcame Karolina Pliskova, Garbine Murguruza and Simone Halep to claim the title last year, and she will face Anett Kontaveit for a place in Sunday's showpiece after the Estonian raced past Caroline Wozniacki 6-3 6-1.
The 1000 Series continues with our coverage of the ATP Rome Masters men's semi-finals on Sky Sports Action from 1.30pm & 6pm on Saturday.
Keep up to date with the latest on www.skysports.com/tennis with news, previews, live blogs, reports and expert analysis. On the move? Head to our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation.
Never miss the big kick-off or have to deal with interrupted games or low quality streams with a NOW TV Sky Sports Pass. You'll get exclusive coverage of the Premier League, Sky Bet EFL, EFL Cup and loads more starting from just £7.99. No contract.
