By Adrianna Outlaw | Thursday, May 7, 2015
Maria Sharapova defeated Caroline Wozniacki, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, to advance to the Madrid Open semifinals for the third straight year.
Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open
Maria Sharapova continues to clean up on Madrid's clay.
The reigning champion defeated Caroline Wozniacki, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, to advance to the Madrid Open semifinals for the third straight year.
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"Caroline has been a really tough opponent for me so I'm just really happy I could beat her this time," Sharapova said in her on-court interview afterward. "I had a great start. My level dropped a little bit. She's obviously a good enough player to take advantage and played extremely well after that."
It was Sharapova's 57th victory in her last 62 clay-court matches.
The third-seeded Russian will play two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals. Kuznetsova fought off Australian Open doubles champion Lucie Safarova, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) in three hours, five minutes and may well be drained in the semfinals.
Sharapova has won six of her last seven matches against former Fed Cup teammate Kuznetsova to take an 8-4 advantage in their head-to-head series; they have never met on clay.
"It's an exciting stage to be at," Sharapova said. "Last year was a great memory for me to win this title for the first time in my career and I really hope I can achieve that again."
Playing for her third consecutive trip to the Madrid final, Sharapova will carry added incentive into the semifinals. Should she reach the final, Sharapova will surpass Simona Halep and regain the world No. 2 ranking.
Empowered by her run to the Stuttgart title, the fifth-seeded Wozniacki had not dropped a set in the tournament, she had beaten Sharapova twice in a row before today's rematch and took the court with a 3-1 record against Top 10 opposition this season.
None of that mattered much to Sharapova, who hammered away at the Dane's weaker forehand wing. Sharapova won eight of 12 points played on Wozniacki's first serve, broke served twice and changed direction down the line effectively in rolling through the opening set.
The two-time U.S. Open finalist served with more aggression in the second set. Wozniacki won 11 of 15 points played on her first serve. She took advantage of Sharapova's serving lapse, breaking twice as the Russian committed four double faults in the set.
For the fourth time in their last five meetings, the match would go the distance.
The turning point came in the eighth game of the decider. Stepping inside the baseline, Sharapova crunched an inside-out backhand winner breaking for 5-3. She served it out when Wozniacki put a forehand into net a minute short of the two-hour mark.