The No. 2-seeded Ivanovic beat No. 10 Patty Schnyder 6-3, 6-2 Tuesday to become the first semifinalist at Roland Garros.
“I am really happy the way I’m playing,” said Ivanovic, who has yet to lose a set in five matches. “I just want to keep this level.”
Ivanovic’s opponent Thursday will be the winner of the later match between No. 3 Jelena Jankovic and unseeded Carla Suarez Navarro. Ivanovic has reached the semifinals at four of the past five Grand Slam tournaments, starting with her run at Roland Garros a year ago, when she lost to Justine Henin in the final.
She struggled against Schnyder only when trying to close out the victory. With light rain beginning to fall, she hit her second and third double-faults of the match in the final game before smacking a service winner on the third match point.
“I started to rush,” she said. “I was happy to calm down and still win the game.”
Svetlana Kuznetsova advanced to the quarterfinals for the third year in a row by completing a victory over Victoria Azarenka, 6-2, 6-3. Kuznetsova’s opponent Wednesday will be Kaia Kanepi, who became the first Estonian to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam tournament by beating Petra Kvitova 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
Kanepi and Kuznetsova won matches suspended Monday because of darkness.
The No. 4-seeded Kuznetsova hit 10 aces against the No. 16-seeded Azarenka, a Belarusian who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz. Azarenka was 0-for-7 on break-point chances, all in the first set.
Kuznetsova has lost only 19 games in four rounds, sweeping every set.
“I just feel very comfortable playing here and really focus on myself,” the 22-year-old Russian said. “I feel like I matured as the years go by, and I’m just really enjoying myself here.”
She won the 2004 U.S. Open and was runner-up to Justine Henin at Roland Garros in 2006.
Kanepi, ranked 49th, began the tournament with a lifetime Grand Slam record of 5-8. She beat two seeded players — No. 6 Anna Chakvetadze and No. 29 Anabel Medina Garrigues — en route to the final eight.
“I have been believing in myself that I can play top players for a long time,” the 22-year-old Kanepi said. “I was hoping for a breakthrough someday.”
Kanepi said her latest victory would be big news in Estonia, and she expected plenty of messages from family and friends.
“My phone is still switched off, because I think there will be a lot,” she said with a smile. “I’m waiting for when I’m little relaxed.”
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