Sharapova and Jankovic Show Their Quality to Dismiss Henin and Serena

Maria Sharapova will face Jelena Jankovic in the semi-finals of the Australian Open after the pair overcame world No1 Justine Henin and defending champion Serena Williams respectively.

Henin entered her quarter-final against Sharapova on the back of a 33-match winning streak, having not lost since her surprise defeat to Marion Bartoli in the semi-finals of Wimbledon. But Sharapova, finally recovered from the shoulder injury that plagued her last season, has been back to her bruising best in 2008; in the end an emphatic 6-4, 6-0 victory was no less than she deserved.

Sharapova was in control from the very outset, a series of ferocious serves and brutal ground strokes forcing Henin on to the back foot as she dropped just three points on the way to taking the first three games. Henin eventually steadied herself, but was having to work hard just to maintain her service games, rescuing another break point when 4-1 down where Sharapova was yet to drop more than a single point on any of her first four service games.

At 5-3, however, the pressure of serving for the set, seemed to get to Sharapova, as she twice drove routine backhands into the net on the way to being broken. No matter, she was back to her best on the very next game, breaking straight back to take the set, before simply sweeping her opponent away with a series of clean winners in the second set as she became the first player to take a set to love against Henin since 2002.

"I really felt like I was in my own bubble," said Sharapova afterwards. "I wasn't trying to pay attention to her record or how many tournaments she won, which is an incredible number."

Jankovic, meanwhile, admitted she is playing like a "wounded animal" at this year's tournament. Injured and written off by her critics, she barely made it out of the first round; now, after beating defending champion Serena Williams - who beat Sharapova in last year's final - 6-3, 6-4 in the Rod Laver Arena, the third seed is through only the third grand-slam semi-final of her career.

"I want to be healthy and I want to play without pain but then again when I have pain I seem to focus more," said Jankovic after the game, during which she once again received treatment for the thigh injury that has hampered her all tournament. "I'm like a wounded animal, I still keep going,"

Despite Jankovic's injury - not to mention the fact she had been on court for more than three hours longer than her opponent so far at this year's tournament - it was actually Williams who appeared the more sluggish in the opening exchanges. Although Williams took the first two games, Jankovic responded by claiming the next four, taking a stranglehold on the first set she would not relinquish.

Williams, who, to be fair, also required treatment to a blister on her foot, was guilty of too many unforced errors - racking up 36 to Jankovic's 17; as well as double faulting five times, where her opponent avoided doing so even once. Jankovic claimed both of Williams' first two service games in the second set, and although Williams broke back herself in between, the Serb rarely looked likely to relinquish her grip on the match.

Afterwards Jankovic described the win as one of the best of her career. "It probably is because defeating a defending champion and a champion like Serena doesn't happen every day," she said. "I've beaten the Williams' sisters a couple of times but here it is very special because last year in this tournament I lost to her in the fourth round."