Sharapova scrapes past Golovin into semi-finals

NEW YORK, Sep 7 (Reuters) Maria Sharapova saved her best tennis for last, sweeping a second-set tiebreak 7-0 against France's Tatiana Golovin to book her return to the US Open semi-finals.

The third-seeded Russian, who struggled with her serve during much of the match yesterday, beat her 18-year-old opponent 7-6 7-6 in the two hour, 11-minute quarter-final, claiming the first-set tiebreaker 7-4.

Last year, Sharapova lost in the Open semi-finals to eventual winner Kim Clijsters.

''I'll definitely need to improve for my next one,'' said 19-year-old Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion who will next meet top seed Amelie Mauresmo of France.

Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Mauresmo advanced to the semi-finals with an easy straight sets win over 12th-seeded Russian Dinara Safina.

REUTERS DH PM0732