Maria Sharapova needed three sets Thursday to get by Magdalena Rybarikova and reach the semifinals at the Mexican Open tennis event.
The top-seeded Sharapova lost the second set but wound up pulling out a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 victory on the hardcourts at the Acapulco Princess.
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Her next opponent is third-seeded Caroline Garcia, who won the first set against Mirjana Lucic-Baroni and was leading in the second before Lucic-Baroni was forced to retire.
The other semifinal will pit Timea Bacsinszky against Sesil Karatantcheva. The fifth-seeded Bacsinszky cruised past Johanna Larsson, 6-3, 6-3, while Karatantcheva outlasted Monica Puig, 2-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4.
This week's winner will pocket $43,000.
[SportsNetwork.com]