PARIS -- For one full set, Maria Sharapova was about as bad as can be. The French Opens defending champion could not direct the ball where she wanted at the start of her quarterfinal against Serbias Jelena Jankovic. Point after point ended with a mistake by Sharapova -- long, wide, into the net, 20 unforced errors in all. It added up to only the sixth time in 626 career matches that Sharapova dropped a first set at love. She lost all of those others, never even forcing a third set. Sharapova did not go quietly Wednesday, though, turning up the level of her shot-making and the volume of her "Come on!" shouts on the way to beating the 18th-seeded Jankovic 0-6, 6-4, 6-3. "I wanted to put that chapter behind me," the second-seeded Sharapova said. "No matter how many errors I made or how disappointed I was with the way I started the match, I knew that I still could try to create chances out there; obviously taking them is another question. But I knew that I was capable of doing much better." Jankovic didnt so much earn her early lead as accept it: Of the 27 points she won in that first set, only two came via her winners. Down the stretch, Jankovic faded, losing the final four games. She was wearing beige strips of tape on her right shoulder and both thighs and said playing singles, womens doubles and mixed doubles these two weeks caught up with her. "I needed a bit more gas in my tank to finish this match off," she acknowledged. In Thursdays semifinals, Sharapova will face No. 3 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, the two-time Australian Open champion, who eliminated her friend and former doubles partner, No. 12 Maria Kirilenko of Russia, 7-6 (3), 6-2 to reach the semifinals at the fourth major tournament in a row. Azarenka, who is 7-5 against Sharapova, summed up their latest matchup of power-based games this way: "Definitely going to be exciting and interesting." The other womens semifinal is No. 1 Serena Williams, a 15-time Grand Slam champion, against No. 5 Sara Errani of Italy. They won their quarterfinals Tuesday. Its the first French Open semifinal for Williams since 2003, the year after she won her only title in Paris. Errani, who is 0-5 against Williams, was the runner-up to Sharapova 12 months ago. "I never expected to get to the semifinals this year after making last years final. There was a lot of pressure this year and Im happy that I was able to handle it," Errani said. "Well see how the semifinal goes." Sharapovas 2012 French Open title completed a career Grand Slam, adding to championships at Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. For someone who used to mock her own inability to move well on red clay, Sharapova sure is taking to the slow surface nowadays: Shes won 12 consecutive matches at Roland Garros, where her 42-9 career record leads active women. Azarenka has never been as successful on clay as faster grass or hard courts, and Thursdays match will be her first French Open semifinal. But shes getting more and more comfortable on what some players call "dirt." Asked by a reporter to describe her "relationship" with clay, Azarenka joked: "I still dont have any ring on my finger. But I feel like, you know, we made a step forward. We are moving in together." Against 2008 U.S. Open runner-up Jankovic, Sharapova needed 35 minutes to win a single game. In the meantime, nearly every point Jankovic claimed was raucously celebrated by a group of four fans sitting behind her brother (who is also her coach). At a changeover, Jankovic looked up at them with a wide smile as they sang her first name and waved a Serbian flag. But eventually, Jankovic began missing more -- and Sharapova began finding the range. A forehand winner helped set up a break point for Sharapova in the second sets first game, and Jankovic handed it over with a double-fault. That was part of a run in which Sharapova won seven of eight points to go ahead 2-0. "Really important. You know, at least give her something to think about," Sharapova said. "She was a bit in cruise control for a long period of time." At 3-all in the third, a pair of Jankovic backhands into the net and one perfect forehand passing shot by Sharapova led to the sets first break point. Sharapova capitalized with a well-timed return of a 107 mph serve, forcing yet another backhand error. The match was nearly two hours old, and Sharapova finally grabbed her first lead. "It was certainly nice to change things around," Sharapova said, "because I wasnt doing much in the first six games." Seahawks Official Jerseys . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. Authentic Seahawks Jerseys . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. http://www.authenticseahawksshopnfl.com/ . With their top three point guards and Kobe Bryant all sidelined by injury, the Lakers signed Marshall out of the D-League on Friday before their home game against Minnesota. Seahawks Jerseys Store .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Cheap Seahawks Jerseys . The scientists believe the small earthquake during a Marshawn Lynch touchdown was likely greater than Lynchs famous "beast quake" touchdown run three years ago, which also came against New Orleans during a playoff game. Those who were looking forward to Tom Brady speaking at next weeks Republican National Convention in Cleveland will have to settle for Tim Tebow.Or will they?Tebow, the Heisman Trophy winner from Florida who is currently an ESPN analyst, is one of a number of sports figures on the list of speakers approved by presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump. The list was obtained by The Associated Press and other media outlets.However, Tebow took to Facebook on Thursday to say reports of his involvement at the convention are just a rumor.I wake up this morning to find out that Im speaking at the Republican National Convention, Tebow said in a video posted on Facebook. Its amazing how fast rumors fly. And thats exactly what it is, a rumor.The program will feature pro golfer Natalie Gulbis and UFC president Dana White.Brady has called himself a friend of Trrump and was teased as a possible speaker, but he is not scheduled to appear.dddddddddddd. Neither is former Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight or legendary boxing promoter Don King, a Cleveland resident and passionate Trump supporter.Trumps children and wife, along with a host of politicians such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, will speak, and daughter Ivanka Trump promised the GOP convention will be different.It will be substantive. It will be interesting. It will be different. Its not going to be a ho-hum lineup of, you know, the typical politicians, she said in a recent radio interview.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '