- WTA Paris Open
Sharapova breezes into semi-finals
Maria Sharapova thrashed eighth-seed Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 6-2,6-2 to set up an all-Russian semi-final against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the WTA Paris Open.
Although top-seeded Sharapova dropped her serve once, the four-time grand slam champion broke Flipkens' serve five times to win in little more than an hour.
In a more tightly-contested match, Pavlyuchenkova upset fourth-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany 5-7 6-3 7-6(3).
Both had seven aces and also dropped serve four times each.
In Friday's later quarter-finals, No. 3 Sara Errani of Italy takes on Ukraine's Elina Svitolina, and Andrea Petkovic of Germany plays France's Alize Cornet.