Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli reached the Roland Garros semifinals for the first time in her career after beating 2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6, 6-4 on Tuesday. She’s the fourth Frenchwoman to have reached this stage or better at this claycourt Slam since 1968.
Bartoli next faces defending champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy in the semifinals. The Italian beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the other quarterfinal match staged on Tuesday.
The Frenchwoman has reached a Grand Slam final in the past – at the 2007 Wimbledon where she lost the title to Venus Williams. She grabbed headlines during the grasscourt event after beating seven-time Grand Slam champion Justine Henin in the semifinals.
