Defending champion and top seed Maria Sharapova advanced to the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix after a struggle lasting two hours and 16 minutes against fellow Roland Garros champion and fellow former No.1 Ana Ivanovic. In the third set Sharapova let Ivanovic level to 4-4 after leading 4-1, but she again took charge with a break to love and held serve to finish the match 7-5 4-6 6-4. The Russian's semifinal opponent will be third seed Angelique Kerber, who put out Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3 7-6(2).

The other semifinal will feature Li Na and Bethanie Mattek Sands. The second-seeded French Open titlist Li defeated fellow Grand Slam champion Petra Kvitova 6-3 7-5, winning 11 of 14 games from 0-2 down in the first set and even though Kvitova took charge in the next three games in a row, it was Li who closed it out to set up a meeting with surprise semifinalist Mattek Sands, who saved a match point in the qualifying stage of the tournament before taking out Yanina Wickmayer in the first round, fourth seed Sara Errani in the second (even impressively bageling the Italian in the first set) and Sabine Lisicki 6-4 6-2 in the quarterfinals, converting all six break chanced that she earned.

(photos: © Neal Trousdale)

Grand Slam are always the most exciting venues for tennis glamour and the US Open is the unofficial fashion queen of all the four majors, so let's see what the best brands put on their brightest WTA stars.

Let's start this fashion overview with maybe not the biggest fashion star, but definitely the player who marked this US Open – Kim Clijsters, whose inspiring career has come to a close at her favorite tournament where she had lifted the trophy three times. To honor the Belgian's last event, her clothing sponsor Fila produced a special collection with a symbolic star pattern.

Ana Ivanovic (who reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since her title win at Roland Garros 2008), Angelique Kerber (last year's semifinalist) and Laura Robson (besides Clijsters, the biggest story of the tournament) were all sporting Adidas Adizero. The bright yellow Adidas outfits may have ruled the US Open courts, and the three players mentioned here all played the fourth round, but the next brand we'll cover is clothing all the four semifinalists!

Of course, it's Nike! Champion Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova traditionally have both day and night dresses. Serena wore navy and pink with lime details, while Sharapova went for more subtle tones – liquid pink and solid dark without many loud contrasts.

PREVIOUS US OPEN FASHION OVERVIEWS

2011 - A look at the beautiful colors at Flushing Meadows
2010 - Fashion hits and misses of tennis in New York

Victoria Azarenka and Sara Errani prefer separates. The world No.1 is popping in a yellow and black combination, while the Italian, sharing the look with Julia Goerges, wore a pleated navy skirt with pink and yellow stripes and a tank. Read more »

This is hilarious! WTA players have no clear idea about who the Top 5 players in the rankings are, and to make things worse, not even world No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska knows who is ranked just below her! They are all pretty good with the Top 3, but the Top 5, hmmm, too difficult. Interestingly, they all think that Li Na is in the Top 5.

Elena Bovina guesses that Jelena Jankovic is No.5, and she's fallen out of the Top 20! Read more »

Besides doing yearly fashion retrospections for specific WTA players, Women's Tennis Blog is famous for reviewing outfits for every Grand Slam. The Australian Open is entering its second week and the time is just right for us to have a closer look at what the players are wearing. Last year Venus Williams grabbed all the attention with her EleVen designs, but the American is sadly absent this time. In 2012 the spotlight is more evenly distributed and brands such as Nike, Adidas and Fila are leading the pack.

Caroline Wozniacki’s love life is booming, at least its online representation suggests that, and her fashion designer Stella McCartney opted for the color of passion for the world No.1’s Australian Open. Wozniacki accessorized the red dress with a heart-shaped Danish flag pendant that her boyfriend Rory McIlroy gave her for Christmas.

Adidas Adizero used a shade of red for their predominantly peach dress worn by Ana Ivanovic, Daniela Hantuchova and Sorana Cirstea.

Serena Williams is wearing a blue Nike dress with wide tank straps and pleated bottom.

Read more »

Earlier this week I published an interview with Bethanie Mattek Sands, so now it's a perfect time to share some of her childhood photos. This first one is HILARIOUS! You know that I practically never use all caps in my writing, but I had to use them this time. The Indian-style Bethanie, with long blond pleats, super cute!

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