Sara Errani beats Li Na to book Italian Open semi-final spot

Karachi: Italian No.10 seed Sara Errani and Serbian veteran Ana Ivanovic have sailed into the semi-finals of the Italian Open on Friday following their respective quarter-final victories in the tournament.

Errani has now made the semis for the second consecutive year, keeping her on course to become the first Italian woman since Raffaella Reggi 29 years ago to win the tournament when it was held in Taranto.

According to the Express Tribune, Errani stunned China's number two seed Li Na 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 with a huge crowd support and next meets Serbian sixth seed Jelena Jankovic after she accounted for Agnieszka Radwanska, the third seed from Poland, 6-4, 6-4.

Meanwhile, 11th seed Serbian Ivanovic had to dig deep throughout a thrilling encounter with Carla Suarez Navarro before finally beating the Spaniard, seeded 13, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, the report added.