Sharapova storms into French Open semis

A decibel-busting display of power tennis helped Maria Sharapova reach her third French Open semi-final with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Kaia Kanepi in Paris, on Wednesday.

The Russian second seed fired a series of winners, each accompanied by her habitual shrieks, to break her opponent's serve seven times in straight-forward quarter-final encounter that lasted only one hour 14 minutes.

The Estonian, who was backed by a small but noisy contingent of face-painted and flag-waving fans, froze on the big stage of Philippe Chatrier Court.

Sharapova will play Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who beat Kazakh qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova in the second semi-final.

Kvitova recovered from a set down to beat Shvedova 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.