Former and reigning Wimbledon winners
Maria Sharapova and
Petra Kvitova will meet in the Australian Open semifinals after both won in straight sets on Wednesday.
Sharapova won 6-2, 6-3 against fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova, who knocked out five-time champion Serena Williams in the previous round.
Kvitova earlier reached the semifinals at Melbourne Park for the first time with a 6-4, 6-4 win over unseeded Italian Sara Errani.
Kvitova beat Sharapova in last year’s Wimbledon final to claim her first Grand Slam title.
“Obviously it was a tough one at Wimbledon,” Sharapova said. “She’s full of confidence and playing the best tennis right now. I look forward to it.”
Sharapova and Kvitova also kept alive their chances of claiming the top ranking, which Caroline Wozniacki will vacate on Monday after her quarterfinal loss to Kim Clijsters.
The fourth-seeded Sharapova must repeat her 2008 Australian title win. Kvitova only has to match or better the run of Victoria Azarenka, the only other player still in the running this week for the No. 1 spot.
Sharapova has dropped one set and lost 21 games en route to her first Australian Open semifinal since she won the 2008 final—the last of her three major titles.
“It’s been a long road back to this stage,” said Sharapova, who spent 10 months off court with a shoulder injury that required surgery later in 2008.
Kvitova was far from her best against an opponent making her debut in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, and with a 0-24 record against top-10 players. The second-seeded Czech made 44 errors and had to come back from a break down in the second set.
“I was a little nervous because I knew that everybody expect it will be easy match,” Kvitova said. “Probably I had in my head that it’s a good draw.”
The men’s semifinal lineup also will be completed Wednesday.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic is up against fifth-seeded David Ferrer in the first match of the night session. Two-time finalist Andy Murray faces Kei Nishikori of Japan.
Two of the so-called “Big Four,” Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, are already through to a marquee semifinal after winning Wednesday.
Federer beat 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 in his 1,000th tour-level match. Nadal rallied for a 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-3 win over Tomas Berdych.
Their match on Thursday will be their 27th in all and 10th at a major, but their first in a Grand Slam semifinal since 2005.
Yelling “Vamos,” disputing line calls, pumping his arms after winning big points and bounding around like a hyperactive kid, Nadal ripped winner after winner against Berdych in a 4-hour, 16-minute display of pure intimidation.
He said he was nervous in the first set—he’d lost in the quarterfinals two straight years—but by the third and fourth sets things had changed.
“The character on court, the way to win the points … the level is very positive, much, much better than the end of the season,” he said. “Semifinals is fantastic result for me.”
Federer finished his match with one of his classic, one-handed backhands against Del Potro, one of only two men who have beaten him in a major final. The other is Nadal, who has done it six times.
That lopsided record aside, there’s a touch of extra tension this time in this usually cordial rivalry. Nadal had told Spanish reporters during a discussion about player discontent that Federer liked to protect his reputation as a gentleman by saying nothing negative in public and letting others “burn.”
Both have since played down the comments. On Tuesday, Federer said it didn’t damage their relationship.
“No. No. Honestly, no,” he said. “It was here for one day and then gone again. I’m happy about that because it didn’t deserve more attention than it did. So for me, it’s another great match with Rafa. … Obviously I’d like to play Rafa because of our great epic match earlier in the finals here a few years ago.”
Thursday’s match will be the first time they have met at Melbourne Park since Nadal won the 2009 title in five seesawing sets. Nadal collected the trophy from the great Rod Laver after consoling Federer as he sobbed in the background.
“We are talking about a player who has won 16 Grand Slams, and I’ve won 10,” Nadal said. “We have played a lot of matches together, many in very important moments for our careers. So the matches against him are always special, even if we are (ranked) 20 against 25.”
The other women’s semifinal will feature defending champion Clijsters against third-seeded Azarenka. Clijsters advanced with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Wozniacki, who remains without a major title. Azarenka rallied for a 6-7 (0), 6-0, 6-2 win over eighth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska.
