MARIA SHARAPOVA BEATS URSZULA RADWANSKA TO REACH SEMIFINALS IN LA WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY HERBALIFE

CARSON, Calif., (Friday, Aug. 7, 2009) - Three-time Grand Slam singles winner and 19-time Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles winner Maria Sharapova reached her second WTA Tour semifinal this year with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Poland's Urszula Radwanska during Friday's quarterfinals at the $700,000 2009 LA Women's Tennis Championships presented by Herbalife. Sharapova is two wins away this weekend at The Home Depot Center from capturing her first WTA Tour singles title in 16 months.

Sharapova will play 2008 LA Women's Tennis Championships runner-up Flavia Pennetta, the highest remaining seed (No. 10) and ranked player (No. 14), in Saturday's evening semifinal. Samantha Stosur, a 2009 French Open semifinalist, and unseeded Sorana Cristea, a 19-year-old Romanian, reached their first LA Women's Tennis Championships semifinal with quarterfinal wins on Friday and will play each other in Saturday's afternoon semifinal.

The LA Women's Tennis Championships marks the sixth tournament this year for Sharapova, the only former World No. 1 remaining in the tournament and winner of Wimbledon in 2004, the 2006 U.S. Open and the 2008 Australian Open. She last won in 2008 at Amelia Island and posted a 32-4 singles record in 2008 before a right shoulder injury ended her year. She atoned for her serving difficulties in the second set with effective groundstrokes, which enabled her to break Radwanska's last five service games.

"It was just a matter of regrouping and staying positive. I knew I was doing a good enough job with my return that if I stayed positive, I knew I could win the match," said Sharapova, a Manhattan Beach resident who previously reached the LA Women's Tennis Championships semifinals in 2006 and 2007. "Slowly, but surely, I'm finding my way on the court. A lot of what you lose is that reflex, that hand-eye coordination, and I feel I'm getting it back. After something is taken away from you, any second you get to play the night match is always a lot of fun."

An Italian Olympian and Fed Cup player, Pennetta rolled through World No. 7 Vera Zvonareva, 6-4, 6-2, for her ninth career top-10 victory. Pennetta converted four of six break points, breaking Zvonareva twice in each set. Pennetta is a seven-time Sony Ericsson WTA Tour winner who most recently won this year in Palermo.

Australian Olympian and Fed Cup veteran Stosur, 25, advanced to her second singles semifinal in as many weeks by rallying to beat China's Zheng Jie, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. It is Stosur's first win over Zheng in two career meetings. Stosur captured 24 doubles crowns from 2005-08, highlighted by women's doubles titles at the 2006 French Open and 2005 U.S. Open, and mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon in 2008 and the 2005 Australian Open. Stosur is ranked No. 19 in singles, up from No. 52 at the end of 2008.

In the day's first quarterfinal, LA Women's Tennis Championships debutante Cirstea reached her second Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles semifinal this year with a hard-fought 7-6 (7-4), 1-6, 7-5 victory over No. 8 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, of Poland. Cirstea, ranked No. 28 in the world, overcame aggravation of her plantar fasciitis in her right foot in the first-set tiebreaker and avenged a 6-0, 6-1 second-round defeat to Radwanska last week in Northern California.

Fans attending Saturday's evening session will be treated to the LA Women's Tennis Championships' annual fireworks spectacular under the stars upon the conclusion of play.

Friday's Scores

Singles, Quarterfinals:

Sorana Cirstea, Romania, def. Agnieszka Radwanska (8), Poland, 7-6 (7-4), 1-6, 7-5
Samantha Stosur (13), Australia, def. Jie Zheng (14), China, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Maria Sharapova, Russia, def. Urszula Radwanska, Poland, 6-4, 7-5
Flavia Pennetta (10), Italy def. Vera Zvonareva (2), Russia, 6-4, 6-2

Saturday's Schedule

ORDER OF PLAY - SATURDAY, AUGUST 8, 2009
Stadium Court, Semifinals

Noon
Vania King (USA) / Monica Niculescu (Romania) vs. Chia-Jung Chuang (Taipei) / Zi Yan (China)

Not Before 2:00 p.m.
[13] Samantha Stosur (Australia) vs. Sorana Cirstea (Romania)

Not Before 7:00 p.m.
Maria Sharapova (Russia) vs. [10] Flavia Pennetta (Italy)

Maria Kirilenko (Russia) / Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) vs. [4] Su-Wei Hsieh (Taipei) / Shuai Peng (China)

Post-Match Quotes

Maria Sharapova:

"In the first (set), I really just went after my serve and really jumped in the court. In my second set, I really stopped doing that. My arm was kind of lagging behind, instead of going up after each serve. It was kind of like a bad habit I created when I was having problems with the shoulder.

"It was just a matter of regrouping and staying positive. I knew I was doing a good enough job with my return that if I stayed positive, I knew I could win the match. She's someone who has a decent first serve but her second isn't as good. I have the confidence to attack it any time of day. It was just important that I keep going at it no matter how many errors I was making.

"After playing four matches, it's kind of a shock to the system after not playing so long. At least I didn't have to play a third (set).

"I have a lot of friends and family here who are supporting me. That's always a bonus. I think tennis in Southern California is really picking up and there's a lot of interest in it.

"Slowly, but surely, I'm finding my way on the court. A lot of what you lose is that reflex, that hand-eye coordination, and I feel I'm getting it back. Sometimes, it's just a matter of inches. There's a very thin line between winning and losing a tennis match. I just wanted to keep going after it and keep hitting it. After something is taken away from you, any second you get to play the night match is always a lot of fun.

"I think physically that's (winning in two sets) very important. I didn't have to run for a third set. I think that gives me a lot of confidence. I certainly didn't play my best today, but I was still able to beat my opponent.

"Flavia I haven't played in a long time. I'm happy to be in the semis."

Flavia Pennetta:

"I was playing very good from the beginning. My serve was great tonight and that was the important thing for me. I was very happy with the way that I played tonight."

"Against Maria (Sharapova), it is going to be a tough match and I need to play like I did tonight. Everything seemed to be working for me tonight. Of course, my serve needs to be there again and I need to stay focused. It will, for sure, be a difficult match."

Samantha Stosur:

"I'm very happy with the way things have gone, to make two semis in two weeks. You can't ask for anything more than that. I really like playing hardcourts.

"I've been working on a few things and it's all coming together. I'm trying to make my serve and my forehand as good as they can be. They've always been my weapons, and now I'm just trying to make them even better.

"I just needed to try and calm down a bit. I was getting really frustrated. I just tried to slow things down a bit and recompose myself.

"It's definitely been my goal of mine to try to win a singles title. I've been in four finals and I've lost every one in three sets. I'm going to give it my all to win one.

(On playing Sorana Cristea in the semifinals)

"We've played once before and I got on top of that one. It's going to be a tough match. She's got a very good forehand and she competes very well. She's aggressive and hits a lot of winners off her forehand. She's going to go for it, but so am I. Not much is going to change much in my game. My whole career I've tried to become a better singles player. I've had success in doubles and its starting to turn around. I'm really enjoying this."

Sorana Cirstea:

"It's a big difference from last week, at Stanford. I'm really happy about my performance today and I hope I can keep it going into the next match.

"She (Radwanska) had two falls and I don't know how bad they were but, also, my (right) foot was hurt. I had to stay in the match. My plantar fasciitis is inflamed, so I called the physio for a little bit. I'm happy I went through that and, hopefully, tomorrow it will be good. It was 3-all in the (first set) tiebreak and I did the wrong movement. The second set, I was feeling my foot and I didn't know if I could play with the pain. But the physio told me it could not get any worse than it already was. I focused on my serve and I got some free points on that.

"Last week was my first match on hard court. Last week, I had three matches and that gave me a little confidence on the court.

"I played (Samantha) Stosur in the quarterfinals at Paris (6-1, 6-3 defeat). But I'm trying to focus a little more on my game and not so much on my opponent. I think I'm learning a lot. I am still young. If I keep going like this, I think I can improve a lot. At Paris (French Open), I beat two top-10 players.

"I would say grass and hardcourt (are my favorite surfaces) and then clay. Even if I grew up on clay."

Tickets & Daily Promotions

Individual tickets, starting at just $35, are on sale now at www.latennischamps.com, 1-877-AEG-TICKETS (1-877-234-8425) and all Ticketmaster outlets, including www.Ticketmaster.com. Weekend packages, for Saturday's semifinals and Sunday's final, begin at $90. Fans can enjoy daily promotions and events, including:

Saturday: Semifinals and Fireworks Celebration under the stars

Sunday: Finals and Dunlop hat giveaway

LA Women's Tennis Championships Television Times

Tennis Channel

Saturday, Aug. 8
5:00 AM (TAPE)

Saturday, Aug. 8
2:00 PM (LIVE)

Sunday, Aug. 9
9:00 PM (TAPE)

Sunday, Aug. 9
5:00 AM (TAPE)

Sunday, Aug. 9
6:30 PM (DELAY)

Monday, Aug. 10
9:30 PM (TAPE)

Tuesday, Aug. 11
1:00 PM (TAPE)

Wednesday, Aug. 12
10:00 PM (TAPE)

ESPN2

Saturday, Aug. 8 7:00 PM (LIVE)

Sunday, Aug. 9 2:00 PM (DELAY)