Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters advance

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KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Maria Sharapova has won a 3½-hour marathon to earn a semifinal berth at the Sony Ericsson Open.

Sharapova rallied to beat No. 26-seeded Alexandra Dulgheru 3-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) in a match that ended at 12:19 a.m. Sharapova's opponent Thursday will be No. 21 Andrea Petkovic, who reached the semifinals with her second upset in two days, beating No. 6 Jelena Jankovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Petkovic eliminated No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round.

Sharapova's match took 3 hours, 28 minutes. She won despite 17 double-faults and twice as many unforced errors as Dulgheru.

Sharapova turned her ankle late in the third set and required treatment from a trainer in the middle of a game, but the injury didn't appear to affect her.

Earlier, two-time champion Kim Clijsters overcame a big third-set deficit to beat Ana Ivanovic 7-6 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (5).

Clijsters trailed 5-1 in the final set Tuesday but then swept the next five games. She won despite 11 double-faults, including two in the final tiebreak. Ivanovic converted only five of 22 break-point chances.

The No. 2-seeded Clijsters, who won the title in 2005 and again last year, will face 2009 champion Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals.

Ivanovic took the loss badly.

"You should see my racket," the 2008 French Open champion said, managing a smile. "I kind of broke my racket and then kind of cried a little bit, and then I was OK."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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