Tennis:World number one Dinara Safina came from behind to survive her first real test at the French Open today, reaching the semi-finals after beating feisty Belarussian teenager Victoria Azarenka 1-6 6-4 6-2.
The Russian, who had dropped only five games in her first four matches, more than doubled that figure in the 23-minute first set, as the ninth seed gave Safina a taste of her own medicine with some aggressive crosscourt shots.
Safina, seeking her first grand slam title, racked up a double break in the second before being pegged back to 4-4. She broke in the next game and served out the set, levelling the match when Azarenka's forehand return went long.
The Belarussian threw down her racket in frustration and Safina quickly went a break up in the third. The top seed seized control with another break in the seventh, clinching victory when Azarenka's service return clipped the net and bounced out.
In the men’s draw Robin Soderling backed up his stunning win over Rafael Nadal by dismantling Nikolay Davydenko in his quarter-final match.
The Swede, seeded 23, had caused one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport by knocking Nadal out on Sunday and 48 hours on he toppled 10th-seeded Davydenko 6-1 6-3 6-1.
Soderling could now face Scotland’s Andy Murray in the last four on Friday.
Soderling had to save two break points in the opening game of the match but that was as tough as it got - he did not have to face another break point.
Davydenko, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros in 2005 and 2007, just could not live with the in-form Swede and soon found himself 5-0 down.
He would win just 10 points in the first set and only four on the Soderling serve.
The second set proved tighter before Soderling broke through in game seven.
Sodering then raced through the third set to wrap up victory in just an hour and 41 minutes.