Sharapova Moves on to Face Top Seed

If Maria Sharapova wants to compete in another U.S. Open final, she will have to beat the No. 1 player in the world to get there.

Sharapova, the No. 3 seed and 2006 U.S. Open champ, will face No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in Friday’s semifinals after she overcame an 0-4 deficit to beat No. 11 Marion Bartoli of France, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in an epic match that began Tuesday and finished Wednesday and lasted a combined 2 hours, 32 minutes.

Sharapova’s reward?

A date with Azarenka, the 23-year-old native of Belarus who crushed the Russian 6-3, 6-0 to win the Australian Open in January.

Click here to read the full story.

Written by Adam Zagoria

[email protected]

Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.