Italian Open: Maria Sharapova through to semi-final

Former world number one Maria Sharapova reached the Italian Open semi-finals after fighting back to beat reigning French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.

Sharapova, 31, won 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-5 against the 20-year-old Latvian, taking her third match point to end a gripping contest which lasted over three hours.

She will play world number one Simona Halep or Caroline Garcia in the semis.

Ukraine’s fourth seed Elina Svitolina will play Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit in the other last-four match.

Svitolina won 6-4 6-4 against Germany’s two-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber, while Kontaveit knocked out Danish second seed Caroline Wozniacki with a 6-3 6-1 victory.

Wozniacki’s defeat means Romania’s Halep will remain top of the rankings if she beats French seventh seed Garcia later on Friday.

Sharapova missed two match points against the dogged Ostapenko, who is ranked sixth in the world, before sealing a victory which means the Russian is set to be seeded at the French Open later this month.

The five-time Slam winner, who is projected to be inside the world’s top 32 next week, has not been seeded at a major since returning from a 15 month ban last year.

“It’s great to back at this stage,” she said after beating Ostapenko.

“My fans have been so loyal throughout the years and for me to be able to produce this kind of tennis again in front of them is very special.”