ROME -- Sixth-seeded Anna Chakvetadze held off Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 Friday to become the first semifinalist at the Italian Open.
Pironkova notched the biggest win of her career Wednesday when she upset top-seeded Ana Ivanovic, and she appeared out of energy in the third set.
Chakvetadze was trying to figure out what went wrong for her in the second set.
"I don't know what happened with me," she said. "I felt like I was playing against myself.
The match was characterized by long baseline rallies, and both players had their right shoulders checked by a trainer at various points.
"Hopefully the trainer will help me today after the match," said Chakvetadze, who won the seventh title of her career at the Paris Indoors in February.
The 64th-ranked Pironkova was playing her first Tier I quarterfinal.
Chakvetadze's semifinal opponent will be either fifth-seeded Serena Williams or Alize Cornet of France, who were up next on center court.
In the other half of the draw, second-seeded Maria Sharapova faced 2005 runner-up Patty Schnyder, and defending champion Jelena Jankovic was up against 1999 winner Venus Williams.
This tournament is an important clay-court tuneup for the French Open, which begins May 25.
