Victoria Azarenka fought back from a set down to beat defending champion Marion Bartoli in the quarter-finals of the Stanford Classic.
Belarussian knocks out defending champion to move into last four
Victoria Azarenka fought back from a set down to beat defending champion Marion Bartoli in the quarter-finals of the Stanford Classic on Friday.
Azarenka was joined in the last four by top seed Samantha Stosur, Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska and Russian fifth seed Maria Sharapova.
Stosur battled to a 7-5 3-6 6-3 win over Yanina Wickmayer, while Radwanska eased past Sharapova's friend Maria Kirilenko 7-5 6-0.
Radwanska will now play Sharapova, who beat second seeded compatriot Elena Dementieva in a marathon 6-4 2-6 6-3 victory, lasting two hours and 47 minutes.
Fourth seeded Bartoli began strongly and, after racing into a 6-3-3-1 lead, the Frenchwoman appeared to be cruising to a routine win.
But the 20-year-old Belarussian fought hard to hold serve in the next game, before reeling off seven straight games to turn the match on its head.
Distracted
Bartoli tried to rally late in the third set but Azarenka broke her opponent to win the match on a forehand error and chalk up her fourth straight success over her opponent.
Bartoli later said that she had been distracted by Azarenka's loud grunting.
"It's difficult to play against those kinds of players," she told reporters. "It's fine to grunt sometimes when you make an effort, but sometimes it's just so loud.
"It's hard to focus on the other side of the net. But it's not something I can get bothered by, because otherwise I would lose my concentration so much. I just need to forget about it, but it's hard."
Azarenka was quick to dismiss the Frenchwoman's claims and hinted that Bartoli's preparations to return serve were also off-putting.
"A lot of things can distract people," she retorted. "When someone is (shaking her racket up and down) when you are serving can also be distracting. I don't pay attention. That's the way I play and I cannot change it."
Tough
Azarenka will next face Stosur in the semi-finals after the Australian fought back from an early break in the third set to dismiss Wickmayer.
"It was tough from the first game to the end," Stosur said. "I got a little flat in the second set.
"I was down 2-0 down in the third and I finally started to pick it up and stayed away from playing into her patterns."
Sharapova seemed to benefit from a few stern words from coach Michael Joyce, recovering after losing the second set to book her place in the last four.
The Russian broke for a 5-3 lead when her compatriot double faulted and went on to wrap things up with a fine forehand winner.
"In the third set I just had to put more balls in play and I think she was surprised that I managed to keep them in the court," she said.
"I knew I had to pick it up, I kept trying to do the right things and eventually it paid off."
