Maria storms into Semi

Maria Sharapova turned up the power in the third set and survived her toughest test, turning back the challenge of fellow-Russian Nadia Petrova 7-5 4-6 6-4 to reach the U.S. Open semifinals.

Maria, who had lost only 12 games in her first four victories, battled the ninth seed evenly over the first two sets of fierce hitting but questionable accuracy, before harnessing her power in the decisive third set of the quarter-final. Petrova, who has yet to win a WTA Tour singles title, battled back from 2-5 down in the third set and had two game points on her serve from 40-15 to level the set at 5-5. Maria Sharapova, however, forced deuce and claimed victory when Petrova's backhand drive drifted wide.
Maria will play either fourth seed Kim Clijsters of Belgium or 10th-seeded former Open champion Venus Williams of the United States.