Sharapova books semi spot

Maria Sharapova stormed into the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Samantha Stosur.

Fourth seed brushes Stosur aside in Cincy

Maria Sharapova stormed into the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Samantha Stosur. Sharapova dominated from the outset against the Australian, who looked set to pose a threat to the Russian after reaching the final in Toronto last week. But the 10th seed held up her opponent for only 72 minutes as Sharapova reached her sixth semi-final in 12 tournaments this season. "I did many good things today that caused her a lot of trouble," said Sharapova, who moved to a career 9-0 against Stosur. "I didn't give her much time to do the things she likes to do." Vera Zvonareva - a two-time finalist who also lifted the trophy in 2006 - is next up for Sharapova after the second seed held her nerve to beat Daniela Hantuchova 6-3 7-6 (8-6). Andrea Petkovic also reached the semi-finals with a 7-5 6-1 win over Nadia Petrova. She will now face Jelena Jankovic who was given a walkover after her quarter-final opponent, Shuai Peng, withdrew with a hip injury.