Oudin Out, Sharapova In

The collision course everyone was following became no more at the Cellular South Cup on Thursday, as Melanie Oudin fell in the quarterfinals. Maria Sharapova moved into the final four, however.

Oudin, the No.2 seed at the International event, was the first to take the court but it didn't end well, as she was ousted comprehensively, 61 63, by Sofia Arvidsson. But don't let Arvidsson's qualifier status deceive - the Swede won this very title four years ago, her lone Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title to date.

"Sofia played a really good match. I can see how she won this tournament before. She's a really good player," Oudin blogged. "I tried everything I could but I wasn't playing my best tennis today. She played well, so that's how I ended up losing. I've been playing a lot of matches lately but that's not an excuse for me - I actually play better when I play a lot, I like playing a lot."

Sharapova, seeded No.1 and a heavy favorite for the title upon Oudin's departure, was tested late in the match but still managed to close out No.8 seed Elena Baltacha of Great Britain in straight sets, 62 75.

Also advancing to the semifinals were No.5 seed Petra Kvitova, who saved a match point down 5-4 in the third set to beat No.3 seed Kaia Kanepi, 16 63 76(0); and Anne Keothavong, who reached her second straight semifinal in Memphis with a 64 63 win over Karolina Sprem.

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