Sania in Cincinnati semifinals

CINCINNATI (USA): Third seeded Sania Mirza made short work of Olga Govortsova of Belarus to book her first-ever singles semifinal berth at the $175,000 Cincinnati Open tennis tournament here on Friday.

Sania, who was eliminated in the quarterfinals of last two editions of the event, thrashed Govortsova 6-1 6-1 in just 51 minutes in the last eight stage match of the WTA Tier III tournament.

The Indian star faces world number eight and top seeded Anna Chakvetadze of Russia, who is playing in the tournament for the first time, but said the win had given her much-needed confidence ahead of the challenging semifinal.

"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 quarterfinals, so you're playing the best eight, and you get an easy win," the 20-year-old said.

Chavetadze advanced to the semifinals 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.