Sharapova advances

MEMPHIS: Top seed Maria Sharapova continued her march through the WTA Tour tennis event on Thursday, reaching the semifinals with a straight-set victory over Elena Baltacha.

Important results: At Memphis: ATP Regions Morgan Championships and WTA Cellular South Cup: Men second round: Tomas Berdych bt Michael Russell 3-6, 6-3, 6-2; Lukas Lacko bt Jeremy Chardy 7-6(4), 2-1 retired; Ivo Karlovic bt Xavier Malisse 6-4, 6-4; Sam Querrey bt Leonardo Mayer 6-4, 6-0; Andy Roddick bt Lu Yen-Hsun 7-6(2), 6-4.

Women: Quarterfinals: Anne Keothavong bt Karolina Sprem 6-4, 6-3; Sofia Arvidsson bt Melanie Oudin 6-1, 6-3; Petra Kvitova bt Kaia Kanepi 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(0); Maria Sharapova bt Elena Baltacha 6-2, 7-5.

At Buenos Aires: Buenos Aires Open: Second round: David Ferrer bt Frederico Gil 6-3, 6-0; Igor Andreev bt Marcel Granollers 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; Horacio Zeballos bt Carlos Moya 6-4, 6-4; Juan Monaco bt Juan Ignacio Chela 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2.

At Bogota: WTA Colombian Open: Second round: Pauline Parmentier bt Catalina Castano 6-2, 6-4 Klara Zakopalova bt Mariya Koryttseva 1-6, 6-3, 6-4; Mariana Duque bt Khrystyna Antoniychuk 7-6(3), 7-6(10).

At Dubai: WTA Dubai Open: Semifinals: Venus Williams bt Shahar Peer 6-1, 6-4.

At Marseille: ATP Open 13: Second round: Guillaume Rufin bt Yannick Mertens 6-3, 2-6, 6-2; Robin Soderling bt Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4; Gael Monfils bt Andreas Seppi 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-6(3); Illya Marchenko bt Olivier Rochus 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 . — Agencies