Maria Sharapova: "I had to work for victory"

Maria Sharapova has declared that she was made to work for her place in the semi-finals of the Miami Open following her straight-sets victory over Sara Errani.

Both players struggled to hold serve during a scrappy two-and-a-half-hour contest, but it was the Russian who took both sets 7-5.

"I had a really difficult opponent," BBC Sport quotes Sharapova as saying.

"She really made me work for this match. A few ups and downs in the match but I'm really happy to get through."

The four-time Grand Slam champion, who has finished runner-up in Miami four times but never won the tournament, went on to say that securing the title this year would mean a lot.

"I've been so close to winning," she said added. "I would love to win this. I've been coming to this tournament since I was a little kid. It would mean a lot to win it."

Sharapova will meet either Jelena Jankovic or Roberta Vinci for a place in the final.