Francesca Schiavone beat Caroline Wozniacki to become the first Italian woman in the open era to reach a grand slam semi-final.
Number 17 seed upsets Wozniacki in French Open
Francesca Schiavone became the first Italian woman in the open era to reach a grand slam semi-final after a shock win against Caroline Wozniacki at Roland Garros.
The number three seed had no answer for the 29-year-old, who dominated almost the entire match before closing out a 6-2 6-3 victory.
Wozniacki, who was a US Open finalist last year, was clearly second best as Schiavone closed out the first set in a little under 40 minutes.
On a soggy Philippe Chatrier Court, the Italian broke in the fourth game after a brilliant backhand pass, a neat lob and a powerful forehand return.
Breaks
Schiavone then dropped her own serve but soon recovered, reeling off five games in a row to secure the first set and move a break up in the second.
Her Danish opponent fought back as Schiavone suffered a dip in form on her serve, but the 17th seed's all-court game eventually put her back in the driving seat.
Schiavone was producing a string of winners and secured the decisive break in game eight before serving out the match to secure a place in the last four.
"I tried to play long and short and be aggressive," she said after the match. "I needed to serve well and put her under pressure. I wasn't going to win by being defensive.
"I have been doing this job all of my life. It's a very special emotion to reach the semi-finals, especially when you work hard every morning, every afternoon."
Dementieva wins
Schiavone will play fifth seed Elena Dementieva in the semi-finals after she came from behind to defeat fellow Russian Nadia Petrova 2-6 6-2 6-0.
Errors were strewn throughout the match, as both players struggled with leg injuries they had picked up earlier in the tournament.
Delays also marred the contest, as several minutes elapsed during medical timeouts and stoppages to decide whether or not to continue as rain began to fall.
Petrova, who had toppled Venus Williams to reach the last eight, took advantage of her compatriot's terrible start to easily win the first set.
But Dementieva's game started to come together at the start of the second, with Petrova's mobility limited by a heavily-strapped thigh.
The 28-year-old levelled the match before carrying the momentum into the decider, where she quickly broke to lead 2-0.
Petrova never looked like mounting a recovery and the Olympic champion powered through the rest of the contest to win the decisive set to love.
