Sharapova battles into final four

Maria Sharapova trusted her fighting instincts as she battled back from a love set to defeat Jelena Jankovic and reach the semi-finals of the French Open.

The crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier was certainly not expecting to see the defending champion struggle to keep the ball in the court throughout the first six games. The last time Sharapova recovered from such a position to win a match she was 15 years old, but she dug in and came through 0-6 6-4 6-3 to set up an intriguing semi-final against Victoria Azarenka.

Sharapova said: "I started the match off with a large number of unforced errors and her playing really well, smart, doing the right things, being consistent. She served really well, and it was really the opposite for me."

The Russian added: "So I was really happy that I was able to win the first two games of the second set. That was really important. At least give her something to think about. She was a bit in cruise control.

"I wanted to put that chapter behind me. No matter how many errors I made or how disappointed I was with the way I started the match, I knew that I still could try to create chances out there - obviously taking them is another question.

"But I knew that I was capable of doing much better. And it's just a game at a time. Obviously in the third set it was still extremely tough. We held serve for a while, and it was really important to get that break. But I was happy with the third set."

Azarenka and Sharapova have met 12 times before, with the Belarusian leading 7-5, although Sharapova has won both their previous meetings on clay.

The Russian said: "She's playing really well this tournament. It's always a tough match. We have played each other so many times there are really no secrets between us in terms of our game styles and what we do well and not."

Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open champion, has now reached the semi-finals at every grand slam after a 7-6 (7/3) 6-2 win over friend and former doubles partner Maria Kirilenko.

She said of the other Maria: "She's definitely an incredible fighter, and she always fights for every ball no matter what the score is. I think it's a matter of really applying your game and not really allowing Maria to step up. Because she loves to hit the first two shots and make you run after the ball and be aggressive. It's going to be definitely a battle."