By Blair Henley
Francesca Schiavone will be making a Grand Slam semifinal appearance for the first time in her 12-year career after upsetting No. 3 seed Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-3 on yet another gloomy day at Roland Garros. She is the only Italian woman to make it to this stage of a Grand Slam in the Open Era.
“In this moment, I’m here, but I’m not here,” Schiavone explained post-match. “I’m so happy. I really played with concentration and without going so down. I keep going, stayed up and good play.”
Just shy of her 30th birthday, No. 17 seed Schiavone looked every bit the seasoned veteran against 19-year-old Wozniacki, using a variety of spins and speeds to frustrate her opponent. Her one-handed backhand, unlike Henin’s yesterday, looked solid and accounted for many of her 25 match winners.
When asked about reaching this pinnacle so late in her career, she laughed and said, “Better late than never!”
Wozniacki was making her second Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance after reaching the U.S. Open final last year.
Fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia needed a set to warm up before finishing off her streaking countrywoman No. 19 Nadia Petrova 2-6, 6-2, 6-0. Petrova took out No. 2 seed Venus Williams en-route to her quarterfinal appearance.
Dementieva, 28, will meet Schiavone in the semifinals. The Russian made it to the final at Roland Garros in 2004, but she has yet to capture a Grand Slam title.