Henin, Sharapova through to French Semis

Paris -- Top seeds Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova each won in straight sets Tuesday and advanced to the semifinals of the clay-court French Open in Paris.

Henin, the world No. 1-ranked woman player and a two-time defending champion of the French Open, swept past eighth-seeded Serena Williams 6-4, 6-3.
That decision means there will be no Grand Slam winner in women's tennis in 2007. Williams collected the Australian Open earlier this year.

Sharapova, seeded second, has been playing despite an injured shoulder but was able to oust ninth-seeded Anna Chakvetadze 6-3, 6-4 in her quarterfinal match. She next faces No. 7 Ana Ivanovic, who upset third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-0, 3-6, 6-1.

Henin's semifinal opponent will be fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic, who posted a 6-3, 7-5 win over No. 6 Nicole Vaidisova in the quarterfinals.

The women's semifinals are scheduled for Thursday, with the French Open women's title to be decided Saturday.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.