Sharapova Battles Past Ivanovic to Reach Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Semis
April 26, 2013 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg
Maria Sharapova was a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 winner over Ana Ivanovic at the 2013 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix to reach the semifinals of the event. Sharapova watched a 4-1 third set lead even up at four-all, but a love break got her back on track and she held serve to close the match out. Sharapova has reached the semifinals or better at all five tournaments she has played this year, and actually at her last seven overall—she was a finalist at her last two tournaments of 2012 as well.
"It was hard to get my body going, I need some time to warm up a little," Sharapova said. "Another tough one."
Sharapova is now 6-2 lifetime against Ivanovic, including wins in their last five encounters and a victory in the 2008 Aussie Open final. Sharapova will next meet the number three seeded Angelique Kerber, a 6-3, 7-6(2) winner over Yaroslava Shvedova in the semis.
"It was extremely important for me to play as well as possible at my home tournament," said Kerber of the event taking place in her homeland. "Reaching the semifinals is a big achievement for me. But I’m not going to put myself under any pressure. I’m naturally going to have the crowd behind me – they’ve been supporting me so fantastically all week."
