Errani sneaks into Rio semis

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (SportsNetwork.com) – Top-seeded Italian star Sara
Errani was among Friday’s quarterfinal victors at the Rio Open tennis event.

The former French Open runner-up snuck past game Brazilian wild card
Beatriz Haddad Maia 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 3-0, as Haddad Maia retired on the red
clay at Jockey Club Brasileiro.

Errani’s semifinal opponent on Saturday will be fifth-seeded Swede Johanna
Larsson, who cruised past German Dinah Pfizenmaier 6-4, 6-0 on Day 5.

The other semi will pit second-seeded Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu against
sixth-seeded Slovak Anna Schmiedlova. Begu blitzed Israeli Julia Glushko 6-1,
6-2, while Schmiedlova vanquished Paraguayan qualifier Veronica Cepede Royg
6-3, 6-1.

This week’s champion will claim $43,000.