Sania romps into Cincinnati semi-finals

Third seeded Sania Mirza made short work of Olga Govortsova of Belarus to book her first-ever singles semi-final berth at the US $175,000 Cincinnati Open tennis tournament on Friday.

The Indian ace, who was eliminated in the quarter-finals of last two editions of the event, thrashed Govortsova 6-1, 6-1 in just 51 minutes in a last eight stage match of the WTA Tier III tournament.

She faces world number eight and top seeded Anna Chakvetadze of Russia, who is playing in the tournament for the first time.

Sania said the victory has given her much-needed confidence ahead of the challenging semi-final.

"You want to win at any stage of the tournament, but it (the score 6-1, 6-1) does give you extra confidence. You're in the quarter-finals, so you're playing the best eight, and you get an easy win," the 20-year-old said.

Chavetadze advanced to the semi-finals after her opponent compatriot Elena Vesnina, seeded sixth, retired with a right shoulder strain. Vesnina was trailing 6-7 (3/7), 6-0, 4-1 when she conceded the match.

Chakvetadze had defeated Mirza 6-4, 6-1 in Hobart, Australia, in their only career meeting earlier this year.

Results: Akiko Morigami (Japan) beat Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) 6-3, 6-1; Akgul Amanmuradova (Uzbekistan) beat Lilia Osterloh (US) 6-1, 6-4; Anna Chakvetadze (Russia) beat 6-Elena Vesnina (Russia)  6-7(3), 6-0, 4-1 RET; Sania Mirza (India) beat Olga Govortsova (Belarus) 6-1, 6-1.