Maria Sharapova‘s two-match winning streak in Warsaw Open ended when she was bundled out of the tournament by 2007 runner-up Alona Bondarenko in the quarterfinals 2-6, 2-6.
This served as the third meeting between the two, with the Russian prevailing in their first two encounters (2008 Indian Wells and Amelia Island). Sharapova, coming back from a ten-month layoff due to shoulder injury, was simply outplayed by her Ukrainian opponent who won more than 60 percent of the total points contested.
Bondarenko has a moderately successful claycourt season so far, reaching quarterfinals twice (Ponte Vedra, Madrid). Up next for eighth seed is Britain’s Anne Keothavong who easily breezed past Romanian qualifier Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-0, 6-1.
Despite Olaru’s lost, Romania still has someone to root for in the semifinals as qualifier Alexandra Dulgheru outplayed Kazakhstan’s Galina Voskoboeva 6-1, 7-5.
The last semifinal berth will be contested between Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova and Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic.
