Arn tops Sharapova in Auckland

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Greta Arn ousted No. 1-seed Maria Sharapova during Thursday's quarterfinal action at the ASB Classic tennis tournament in New Zealand.

Arn broke Sharapova's serve five times in 10 games en route to a 6-2, 7-5 victory. Arn established control in the first set when she lost only six points in four service games. She overcame a pair of service breaks in the second set with three against Sharapova.

Second-seeded Yanina Wickmayer, the tournament's defending champion, won 65 percent of the points when receiving serve in a 6-0, 6-2 win over Simona Halep. Wickmayer saved eight of the nine break-point situations she faced while finishing off six of the eight she forced on Halep.

The other quarterfinal results Thursday saw No. 4-seeded Julia Goerges survive a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 battle with Kateryna Bondarenko and Peng Shuai defeat qualifier Heather Wilson 6-4, 7-5 in a match that took nearly 2 hours.

Friday's semifinals pit Georges against Arn, who has won both their previous meetings, and Peng against Wickmayer, who is 2-0 versus the Chinese player.