Rome Masters

Maria Sharapova closed in on the world number one spot when she reached the Rome Masters semi-finals with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Elena Bovina on Friday.

Sharapova was rarely stretched by the ninth seed. She simply outgunned her compatriot, moving her around the court with low, flat groundstrokes and firing back serve return winners to break in the sixth and eighth games and take the first set.

Having held off three break points against her serve early in the second set, Sharapova lashed a return down the line to go 4-2 up, then held to close out the contest.

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