Keothavong on fire to reach semi-final at Warsaw Open

Clay is Anne Keothavong's least comfortable surface but the British No 1 is finding form just in time for next week's French Open. In beating Romania's Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-0, 6-1 in the Warsaw Open yesterday the 25-year-old from Hackney became the first British woman for 26 years to reach the semi-finals of a clay-court event on the main women's tour.

In her third semi-final of the year Keothavong will play Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko, who put an end to Maria Sharapova's return after a shoulder injury when she beat the former world No 1 6-2, 6-2. Sharapova, nevertheless, confirmed that she would play in Paris next week.

Katie O'Brien, the British No 2, and Elena Baltacha, the No 4, could join Keothavong and Mel South in the main draw at the French Open after reaching the third round of qualifying. O'Brien beat Japan's Japan's Rika Fujiwara 7-6, 6-2 yesterday, while Baltacha beat France's Stephanie Vongsouthi 6-1, 7-5.

Andy Murray will be the only Briton in the men's singles after Alex Bogdanovic was beaten 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 by India's Somdev Devvarman.