World number one Dinara Safina came from behind to survive her first real test at the French Open on Tuesday, reaching the semi-finals after beating feisty Belarussian teenager Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.
The Russian, who had dropped only five games in her first four matches, more than doubled that figure in the 23-minute first set, as the ninth seed gave Safina a taste of her own medicine with some aggressive crosscourt shots. “At the beginning it was going too fast, there was nothing I could do,” said Safina after setting up a semi-final against Slovak Dominika Cibulkova.
Maria Sharapova’s grand slam comeback ended in the French Open quarter-finals on Tuesday after she was demolished 6-0 6-2 by Slovak Dominika Cibulkova. The Slovak will now face Safina for a place in Saturday’s final.