Rome - Anna Chakvetadze booked the first of the semi-final spots at the WTA Rome Masters on Friday with an unappetising 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, win over Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova. "I don't know what happened, I felt like I was playing against myself," said the Russian sixth seed after winning a low-standard contest marred by a combined 87 unforced errors.
The win in just under two hours end the giant-killing week of the 20-year-old Pironkova, who beat top seed Ana Ivanovic in the second round.
The Bulgarian ranked 64 has lifted her level at the Foro Italico after failing to win out of qualifying rounds three times this season.
Chakvetadze said she was troubled by a right shoulder, a complaint which also bothered her opponent.
The Russian took treatment but said that she felt a chill during that break which compromised her second set. "I was not there in the second set," she confessed. "I'm just glad I got through this match.
"In the second set I didn't feel that well and the shoulder was still bothering me."
The winner of seven WTA titles including Paris Indoors in February, will face off in the final four on Saturday against either fifth seed Serena Williams or French teenaged surprise packet Alize Cornet, who knocked out former US Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova in third-round straight sets.
"No one expected Cornet to get this far," said Chakvetadze. "Theirs will be an interesting match.
"No matter who it is, I have to play much better than I did today."
