WTA: Sharapova reaches Istanbul semis

Istanbul, Turkey (Sports Network) - Top-seeded and former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova needed all three sets on Thursday to reach the semifinals at the $200,000 Istanbul Cup tennis event.
Sharapova got past seventh-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 at this final clay-court French Open tune-up. Sharapova's semifinal opponent here on Friday will be upstart Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai, who stunned former top-ranked star Venus Williams of the United States here on Wednesday.
The 20-year-old Sharapova is playing her first tennis following a seven- week injury layoff. The tall superstar hadn't played a WTA match since losing to Serena Williams in Miami back in late March before besting Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova here on Tuesday.
Sharapova was last year's U.S. Open champion and this year's Australian Open runner-up to Serena.
Second-seeded Elena Dementieva joined her fellow Russian Sharapova in the semis with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 come-from-behind victory over Colombian Catalina Castano, while Rezai marched on with a 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 comeback win against veteran American Meghann Shaughnessy.

The two-time major runner-up Dementieva's final four opponent will be rising Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko, who advanced without even lifting her racquet on Thursday when third-seeded Swiss Patty Schnyder pulled out of their scheduled quarterfinal due to a right leg injury. Schnyder was a semifinalist at last week's event in Rome. The fifth-seeded Bondarenko was this month's Warsaw runner-up to currently top-ranked Belgian stalwart Justine Henin.