Italian Open 2018: Maria Sharapova to contest Simon Halep in semi-finals
Italian Open 2018: Maria Sharapova to contest Simon Halep in semi-finals
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Ex- world number one Tennis player Maria Sharapova reached the Italian Open semi-finals after fighting back to thrash reigning French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.

The 31 year -old, claimed victory by  6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-5 against the 20-year-old Latvian, taking her third match point to stop a fascinating contest which lasted over three hours.

She faces Simona Halep in semi-final on Saturday after the world number one beat Caroline Garcia 6-2 6-3.

Elina Svitolina will contest Anett Kontaveit in the other last-four match.

Ukraine's Svitolina  sealed a win 6-4-6-4 against Germany's two-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber, while Kontaveit of Estonia beat Danish second seed Caroline Wozniacki 6-3 6-1.

Halep, yet to succeed a Grand Slam having mislaid in three finals, required only an hour and 14 minutes to claim her fourth win in five matches against seventh seed Garcia of France.

Her victory, combined with Wozniacki's crush, ensured the 26-year-old Romanian, who lost to Svitolina in Italian final last year, would retain her number one ranking.

Sharapova failed to spot two match points against the strong-minded Ostapenko, who is ranked sixth in the world, before claiming a victory which means the Russian is set to be seeded at the French Open later this month.

 

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