Tokyo: Former world No.1 Maria Sharapova stormed into the Pan Pacific Open semi-finals by outfoxing Czech Iveta Benesova 6-4, 7-5 on Thursday.
Earlier, seventh seed Jelena Jankovic eased past France's Marion Bartoli 6-4, 6-3 to reach the last four of the $2 million tournament in Tokyo.
Sharapova, 25th in the world after shoulder surgery last October, kept the nervous event organisers happy after a glut of early exits by top-seeded players.
"I feel like it's almost automatic again," the three-times Grand Slam winner told reporters. "Figuring things out and being patient. It didn't come easy to me at first. The goal is to be aggressive no matter what the situation is. It's about execution and not making errors when you have to step up and win big points."
The Russian, still looking for her first title since her return from injury, rattled off four straight games to take the opening set.
Sharapova's big-match experience told again at the business end of the second when she broke her opponent's serve at 6-5 with a ferocious backhand to close out the quarter-final.
The 2005 Tokyo champion will face 11th seed Agnieszka Radwanska in Friday's semi-finals after the Pole swept aside Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova 6-3, 6-1 in the late match.
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