Maria Sharapova has edged past Magdalena Rybarikova in three sets to book her place in the semi-finals of the Mexico Open.
The top seed dropped her first set of the competition in Acapulco, although she did enough to see off her opponent 6-1 4-6 6-2 to pave the way for a meeting with Caroline Garcia in the final four.
Two breaks of serve in the opening set ensured a straightforward start to the match for the 2015 Australian Open runner-up, although the second proved to be a tighter affair with things going by way of serve up until the sixth game.
Rybarikova, who has never previously beaten Sharapova, broke the Russian's service game on two occasions to level things up overall and take the match to a decider.
World number two Sharapova made little mistake in the final set, however, holding well to see out the contest with relative ease in the end to find a route into the semis.
Daniel Lewis
