Sharapova storms into Memphis semis

Top seed Maria Sharapova of Russia dispatched eighth seed Elena Baltacha of Britain 6-2 7-5 on Thursday at the Memphis Championships.

It was another commanding performance from Sharapova, who has yet to drop a set in Memphis, as she claimed a nip-and-tuck second set by breaking her opponent at 5-5.

Sharapova will play fifth seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic for a place in the final.

Second seed American Melanie Oudin failed to join Sharapova in the last four, losing to unranked Swede Sofia Arvidsson 6-1 6-3.

"She wasn't missing anything," Oudin said of her opponent. "She played a really good match and there wasn't much I could do."

Arvidsson will play unranked Briton Anne Keothavong in the other semifinal.

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