Paris // Maria Sharapova, the 2012 champion, will face rising Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard on Thursday in the French Open semi-finals.
The Russian former No 1 and four-time grand slam title winner came back from a set down to defeat Spaniard Garbine Muguruza 1-6, 7-5, 6-1.
But it was not before she received a fright from Muguruza, 20, who had knocked out defending champion Serena Williams in the second round.
“There was little I could do in the first set as Garbine was playing so well,” said Sharapova, who also dropped the first set against Samantha Stosur in the fourth round.
“I needed to pick up my energy and start moving my feet. It was tough losing the final last year and it has given me greater motivation to go one step further this time.”
Bouchard was also involved in a dogfight as she became the first Canadian woman to reach the French Open semi-finals.
She trailed badly in all three sets before prevailing 7-6, 2-6, 7-5 over Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro in two hours, 22 minutes.
The 20 year old is the only woman to reach the last four of both majors this season, after losing to Li Na in the Australian Open semi-finals in straight sets.
The only other Canadian to reach a grand slam semi-final was Carling Bassett at the 1984 US Open.
“I am just so happy right now. Thanks to everyone, this is just completely unbelievable,” Bouchard told a raucous crowd, many with Canadian flags, on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
“I’m so happy to spend a few more days in Paris and look forward to the semi-final. It feels a bit like home here.”
Bouchard, who won her first WTA tournament at Nuremberg on the eve of Roland Garros, came back from 5-2 down to push the first set to a tiebreaker that she won 7-4.
It was all Suarez Navarro in the middle frame as she broke the Bouchard serve twice to level the match 6-2. But despite marching to a 4-1 lead in the final set, the 14th seed lost her nerve in a bid to reach her first grand slam tournament semi-final.
Bouchard needed three match points, having double faulted on the first and hitting long on the second, before finally wrapping up the match 7-5.
Bouchard and Sharapova have met twice, with the Russian defeating the Canadian 6-2, 6-4 at the French Open last year and winning 6-2, 6-0 at the Miami Masters in the same season
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