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Sharapova extends winning streak
By beating fellow Russian Nadia Petrova, Maria Sharapova has now extended her grass-court winning streak to 22 matches.
With a little luck at the end, defending champion Maria Sharapova returned to the Wimbledon semifinals by beating fellow Russian Nadia Petrova 7-6 (6), 6-3 Tuesday.
In the final game, Sharapova clipped the net on consecutive points, and won both. The first allowed her to save the only break point she faced.
"I told the ball to hit the net and roll over," Sharapova joked. "That comes with experience."
When Petrova sent a forehand long on the first match point, the second-seeded Sharapova let loose a shriek, then happily stretched her arms skyward as if doing calisthenics. She extended her grass-court winning streak to 22 matches.
"Finishing off the matches is tough," Sharapova said. "It gave me shivers in my body. It's just so good to be in the semis again." Also advancing was Amelie Mauresmo, who reached the semifinals for the third time in four years by beating Anastasia Myskina of Russia 6-3, 6-4.
The biggest upset of the tournament continued to be the mostly dry weather, and the quarterfinals began with more sunshine and windy conditions.
Sharapova, who lost just 17 games in the first four rounds, survived two close sets in a baseline battle with the eighth-seeded Petrova. There were only three break points, and just one converted by Sharapova for a 2-0 lead in the second set.
In the tiebreaker, Sharapova leaped into a forehand and struck a winner to lead 7-6. Another forehand winner on the next point gave her the set.
Like Sharapova, the third-seeded Mauresmo has yet to lose a set in five rounds, and she showed the Centre Court crowd how effective her game can be on grass. She played serve-and-volley, chipped and charged on returns and smartly mixed the pace of her shots against Myskina.
