Tianjin Open: Maria Sharapova beats Stefanie Voegele to reach semi-final

Former world number one Maria Sharapova reached the fourth round of this year's US Open

Maria Sharapova beat Swiss qualifier Stefanie Voegele to reach the Tianjin Open semi-finals.

The Russian wildcard took one hour and five minutes to beat Voegele, ranked 196th in the world, 6-3 6-1 in China.

Sharapova was broken in the first game of the match but hit back straight away, using her forehand to break down her opponent.

She will face defending champion Peng Shuai next after the third seed beat Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-0 6-1.

Sharapova, who returned from a 15-month ban in April, has yet to drop a set in Tianjin.

After taking the first set with a love hold, the world number 86 won five consecutive games to take control of the second, before sealing the match with a forehand winner.

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