Holder Sharapova into Stuttgart final past Kerber

RIGHT BEHIND IT: Russia's Maria Sharapova returns the ball to Germany's Angelique Kerber in their semi-final of the WTA Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, southwestern Germany. (AFP)DPA/StuttgartDefending champion Maria Sharapova had to go the full distance again on Saturday to reach the Porsche Grand Prix final with a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 victory over local hope Angelique Kerber. The top seed Sharapova fought from 2-0 down in the last set, failed to serve out the match at 5-4, but won the last eight points against the third-seeded Kerber for victory. Sharapova maintained her 100 per cent record in Stuttgart, where she won on her debut last year and went on to triumph at the French Open to complete a career grand slam. “I am pleased the way I played in the first set and came back in the third. I am happy I came through and fought in the third,” Sharapova said. The Russian has been stretched to three sets in all three games at the tournament, playing 3 hours 9 minutes against Czech Lucie Safarofa and 2:2:16 against Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic before spending another 2:07 hours on court Saturday. In Sunday’s final, Sharapova meets the second-seeded 2011 French Open champion Li Na of China or American qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Sharapova broke Kerber in the opening game and again in the ninth to take the opening set on a double fault from the sixth-ranked Kerber, who found no answer to Sharapova’s baseline power. But like in the previous two matches, Sharapova was unable to win in straight sets. She started to lack accuracy, Kerber’s first-serve rate improved, and the German levelled the sets with two breaks. Kerber kept up the momentum to go 2-0 up in the final set but Sharapova wasn’t finished and turned the deficit into a 5-3 lead. She failed to serve out the match at 5-4 but won the following two games at love, clinching victory when Kerber’s backhand sailed long. “I lost momentum in the second set by not playing aggressive ... I love to win quicker but I had to play longer again. Over two hours you have a few moments where your concentration and level drops,” she said. Kerber said: “She played unbelievably well in the important moments, she hit the balls well and had more courage. That’s why she is number two in the world. Of course I wanted to win. I gave my best and can’t complain.” While saying it is nice to return to a place where you have had success before, Sharapova did not want to draw comparisons with last year where the Stuttgart title kick-started her clay campaign towards the Roland Garros crown. “It is too early to talk about the French Open, there are still several weeks and tournaments. I never like to compare years, it’s a different situation, different players,” she said.