BIRMINGHAM, England, June 16 (UPI) -- Top-seeded Maria Sharapova of Russia Friday cruised into the semifinals of the grass-court DFS Classic in Birmingham, England.
In the quarterfinals, Sharapova, who is a two-time defending champion in this pre-Wimbledon warm-up, beat No. 12 Mara Santangelo of Italy, 6-2, 6-2.
"I knew (Santangelo) had a really good grass-court game, so I had to be ready from the beginning," Sharapova said. "I felt very comfortable out there today and I seem to be improving as each round goes by."
Not as lucky among the higher seeds were second-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy, who lost to unseeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1; No. 4 Elena Likhovtseva of Russia, who was beaten by unseeded Jamea Jackson of the United States, 6-4, 6-3; and sixth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France, who lost, 6-4, 6-4, to unseeded Meilen Tu of the United States.
