Sania enters semi final of Japan open India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza entered the semi final round of the Japan open here on Friday. She defeated Argentina's Marian Bartoli in the quarterfinal tie. Sania maintained upper hand throughout the match. Bartoli walked out of the match when she was trailing by 4-6, nil-2 in the second set. Interacting with the media after her win, Sania said: "You always like to win match point, so it was unfortunate but I felt I was playing well and was in control. At the end of the day, a win is a win. The big thing for me is that I was outplaying a Top 15 player, who was in good form." "I'm pleased that after two weeks of not playing my best, I'm finishing on a high and have made the semi-finals. I'm playing a good friend next," she added. Sania will now face Italian Francesca Schiavone in the semi-finals. Both Sania and Schiavone made it to the semi finals by winning against injured opponents in their quarters. Schiavone and Sania have played twice before, with the Italian player wining the both.