Bondarenko ousts Sharapova in Warsaw

WARSAW, Poland, May 21 (UPI) -- Alona Bondarenko swept past Maria Sharapova in straight sets Thursday, knocking Sharapova from the $600,000 Warsaw Open in Poland.

Sharapova, 22, was appearing in her first singles tournament since a shoulder injury last August and had survived her first two matches, although her play wasn't stellar. That cost her in her first match against a seeded player as the eighth-seeded Bondarenko was able to take advantage of Sharapova's mistakes in a 6-2, 6-2 victory.

"Maria played with the same speed and power she had before the injury, the only difference is she made more errors," Bondarenko said.

Bondarenko advances to Friday's semifinals against Anne Keothavong, who blitzed Ioana Raluca Olaru, 6-0, 6-1, in the quarterfinals. Bondarenko won her only meeting with Keothavong but that was in 2005.

The other semifinal has sixth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova playing Alexandra Dulgheru for the first time. Hantuchova needed three sets to get by Klara Zakopalova, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, in her quarterfinal and Dulgheru defeated Galina Voskoboeva, 6-1, 7-5.

Friday's winners head into Saturday's tournament finals with a first-place check of $98,500 at stake.