Tennis: Sharapova makes smooth progress in Rome

Maria Sharapova closed in on the world number one spot when she reached the Rome Masters semi-finals with a 6-2 6-2 win over Elena Bovina on Friday.

The 18-year-old Russian, top seed in the Italian capital, will replace Lindsay Davenport at the top of the rankings if she triumphs this week.

Earlier, defending champion Amelie Mauresmo crushed four-times winner Conchita Martinez 6-1 6-2 to set up a last four clash against another Russian, Vera Zvonareva, who edged out Italian Francesca Schiavone 7-5 7-6.

Sharapova was rarely stretched by the ninth seed. She simply outgunned her compatriot, moving her around the court with low, flat groundstrokes and firing back serve return winners to break in the sixth and eighth games and take the first set.

Having held off three break points against her serve early in the second set, Sharapova lashed a return down the line to go 4-2 up, then held to close out the contest.

"A year ago I'd just turned 17 and a lot has happened since then," said Sharapova, who lost in the third round at Rome in 2004.

"Having a year to work hard physically has made a big difference.

"Strength-wise I feel a lot stronger on the court. I can play more matches in a row without getting tired, which is important on clay, where you often get tough matches." She next faces in-form eighth seed Patti Schnyder, who crushed another 18-year-old Russian, the unseeded Evgenia Lintskaya, 6-1 6-0.

"I'm really excited about being in the semi-finals. It's been a great tournament so far, though obviously it gets harder from here," she said.

The tussle between Mauresmo and Martinez failed to live up to its billing.

The 33-year-old Spaniard, who won the tournament four times in a row between 1993 and 1996 but is now ranked 47th in the world, was out of her depth against the second seed, who stayed on course for her fifth final in six years in Rome.

Martinez lacked power and precision on her groundstrokes and made a string of mistakes.

"I think my opponent today had some ups and downs," Mauresmo said.

"The first three or four games of the match were very important. She had some opportunities early in the first set, which she didn't make, and then I was able to break her first and play some great tennis.

"I didn't miss, I didn't let her play her top-spin on both sides. I think I was putting a lot of pressure on her.

"I knew that was the way I had to play because if you spend too much time on court you can easily end up playing her game, and then it's another story."

Mauresmo will go into her match against Zvonareva as the clear favourite. The Frenchwoman has won all six previous meetings, including a 6-3 6-3 win in the semi-finals at Rome 12 months ago.

- REUTERS