Sharapova through to semis

Maria Sharapova has made it through to the last four of the French Open with a straight sets victory over Kaia Kanepi.

The Russian had little trouble in beating her Estonian opponent, triumphing 6-2 6-3 to set-up a mouthwatering semi-final clash with Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.
The match got off to a nervy start with three consecutive breaks of serve but it was Sharapova who settled the quickest, winning the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead and she eventually took the first set after 35 minutes.
She then eased through the second as Kanepi was unable to repeat the form she showed in her third round victory over Caroline Wozniacki, with Sharapova's extra power eventually proving too much.
After struggling over the last couple of seasons with a shoulder problem, the 25-year-old says she is happy to be back in contention and confident she can claim that elusive Roland Garros title.
"I'm happy to be back in the semi-finals, the third time I've made it this far," said Sharapova. "I really hope that the win can come this year. My preparation has been really good - it was nice to win two tournaments coming in. I'm happy with the way I've improved, but it only gets tougher from here."