Wimbledon: Maria Sharapova keeps it short and simple

Former champion wins against Dominika Cibulkova to reach her first Wimbledon semifinals since 2006.

Maria Sharapova looked like a champion under the Centre Court roof at Wimbledon,advancing to the semifinals at the All England Club for the first time since 2006 with a 6-1 6-1 win over Dominika Cibulkova on Tuesday.

Sharapova,the only Wimbledon champion remaining in the womens draw after the Williams sisters were eliminated,won eight straight games to win the first set and take control of the second. The fifth-seeded Russian has not lost a set at this years tournament,and she was nowhere near losing one on Tuesday. Its been a few years since I got past the fourth round,and now Im in the semifinals, said Sharapova,who won the tournament in 2004 and also reached the semifinals in 05. So this a great chance for me to take it a step further.

Sharapova will next face German wild-card Sabine Lisicki who reached her first Grand Slam semifinal by beating 2007 finalist Marion Bartoli 6-4 6-7 (4) 6-1. This is a player thats playing with a tremendous amount of confidence right now and playing really great grass-court tennis,so itll be a really tough match but I certainly look forward to it, Sharapova said.

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Cibulkova held serve in the first game against Sharapova,but couldnt hold another. The only hiccup in the match for Sharapova came in the third game of the second set when Cibulkova broke. Well,to be in the semis of Wimbledon is a bonus, said Sharapova,who finished with 23 winners and five aces. To be able to come back and play tennis after a big injury I was just quite happy to be back on the court. So to achieve this is wonderful. But the tournament isnt over.

With heavy rain pelting down on the retractable white cover over the court,Lisicki used drop shots to perfection in the first two sets,becoming only the second wild-card entry to reach the womens semifinals at the All England Club. I cannot explain how I feel at the moment, said Lisicki,the first German Grand Slam semifinalist since Steffi Graf in 1999. It was just such a tough road back and its so wonderful to be standing on Centre Court in Wimbledon which I love so much. Im just so happy.

Lisicki served for the match at 5-4 in the second and held three match points,but Bartoli saved them all.

Nadal injury not serious

Earlier in the day,Rafael Nadal said his left foot,which he injured during Mondays fourth-round win over Juan Martin del Potro,is not seriously injured and he will play in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Nadal is scheduled to play Mardy Fish on Wednesday. Nadal hurt his foot in the first set on Monday but still managed to win 7-6 (6) 3-6 7-6 (4) 6-4.

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