(June 5, 2013) -- In a loud, no love lost battle royale quarterfinal between two of the WTA's biggest stars, it was
Maria Sharapova who prevailed after enduring an embarrassing start against
Jelena Jankovic.
Despite holding a commanding 7 to 1 career record against her opponent, that stat didn't help Sharapova as she got off to a horrid start. Windy conditions combined with the defending champion being unable to find the range on her groundstrokes all equaled up to Sharapova hitting 20 unforced errors in the first set.
An errant forehand from the Russian down set point gave Jankovic the set 6-0 in just 29 minutes.
But if Jankovic was to complete the win and book her trip to the semifinals, she was probably going to have close out Sharapova in straight sets. Sharapova went into the match with a 23-1 win/loss record in three set matches on clay (her only defeat being against her nemesis Serena Williams back in 2008).
Sharapova dug in her heels so to speak in the second set and finally got on the board with a break of Jankovic's serve. Now finding her groove with her groundstrokes, Sharapova started moving better as well including chasing down a Jankovic drop shot to set up a winning backhand volley for 3-1.
Though she failed to serve out the set at 5-2, Sharapova got another chance two games later. She made no mistake this time as Sharapova held at love and forced a deciding set.
In a match filled with grinding rallies and pointed dirty looks from both women at each other across the net, neither Jankovic or Sharapova blinked in the early stages of the third set. Both held serve for 3-all and though Sharapova had committed 40 unforced errors to just 15 for Jankovic by now, the momentum started to swing in favor of the Russian.
Sharapova upped her aggression and ripped a forehand passing shot winner to set up two break points. A strong return proved too much for Jankovic and it was Sharapova who had the first break for 4-3.
Sharapova survived a break point against her in the next game by winning a long rally with a forehand winner. After holding for 5-3, Sharapova bellowed "Come on!" to let Jankovic know that she was not about to give it away.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Sharapova soon held two match points on Jankovic's serve. The Serbian sent a final forehand wide and that was it. Sharapova exulted in the 0-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory.
"Jelena played such a great match," said Sharapova afterwards during her on-court interview. "She really was the aggressive player and if I wanted to win this match I knew that I had to change things around." She said later, "I'm really fortunate to be in the semis again."
Azarenka Defeats Kirilenko; Gets Sharapova Next
As Jankovic and Sharapova battled, No. 3 seed Victoria Azarenka and No. 12 seed
Maria Kirilenko played their quarterfinal at the same time on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Theirs was a very different match that was mostly decided in a lengthy first set.
Both women traded multiple breaks of serve but it was Kirilenko who pushed ahead for 5-4 after holding serve during a brutal 10 minute, 8 deuce game.
Azarenka promptly held serve herself and then broke Kirilenko for 6-5. But the Russian returned the favor and soon both found themselves in a tiebreak. That is where Azarenka's penetrating groundstrokes did the most damage as she jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Kirilenko recovered some ground, but it was not enough as Azarenka claimed the set 7-6(3) in 76 minutes.
That proved decisive as Azarenka nearly ran away with the second set. Azarenka quickly found herself up 4-1 and soon she closed out the 7-6(3), 6-2 win.
Despite the loss, Paris proved to be a great tournament for Kirilenko who will now crack into the WTA top ten for the first time in her career next week.
Azarenka will face Sharapova in the semis with the Australian Open champ holding a 7-5 career advantage.
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