Sharapova and Bouchard Use Comebacks to Reach French Open Semis

Maria Sharapova survived a scare and rallied to defeat Spain’s Garbine Muguruza 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 on Tuesday, moving into the semifinals at Roland Garros for the fourth straight year.

Sharapova opened up the match by double faulting on her first serve, giving Muguruza an early beak that allowed her to dictate the first set. The Russian trailed Muguruza 0-4 in the opening set before winning her first game, and eventually dropped the set 1-6.

The tide began to turn in the second as Sharapova was able to get her rhythm and began to start utilizing a powerful serve. With the second set even at 1-1, she broke Muguruza after the Spaniard double-faulted which put the serve back on Sharapova’s side.

From there, the Russian controlled the match and had Muguruza running baseline to baseline as she was unable to handle Sharapova’s forehand. Muguruza had five break point opportunities in the second but was unable to capitalize on any of them as Sharapova reeled off nine of the final 10 games to clinch the victory and reach her fourth straight French Open semifinals.

“It was so tough losing in the final last year, being the defending champion,” said Sharapova. “This year, to come back, I have the extra motivation to go further, and to be back on [this] stage is a really nice feeling.”

Standing in her way of going back to the finals is Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, who defeated Spain’s Carla Suarez-Navarro 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-5 on Tuesday to move into the semis. Bouchard was forced to orchestrate a comeback of her own, rallying from 4-1 down in the third set to defeat the Spaniard.

“At the end of the third set I thought I was getting the upper hand and began to believe I could win,” said Bouchard. “I’m just excited to be in the semifinals and to stay a little longer in Paris. I’m just going to enjoy myself in the semifinals.”

The 20-year old Bouchard was the first Canadian to reach the quarterfinals of the French Open since Helen Kelesi 25 years ago and has now parlayed that into a semifinal showdown with the 2012 champion.

The other half of the semifinals on the women’s side will be determined tomorrow, as four more hopefuls battle to reach the final four. Italy’s Sara Errani will take on 28th seeded Andrea Petkovic, while Svetlana Kuznetsova will take on the highest remaining seed in the draw, fourth-seeded Romanian Simona Halep.