Tennis: Sharapova proves hurdle too far as Baltacha falls

TENNIS: Elena Baltacha's winning run came to an end on Thursday night as she lost to top seed Maria Sharapova in the quarter-finals of the WTA Cellular South Cup in Memphis.

The 22-year-old Russian advanced to the last four with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over the British No1, ending the eighth seed's confidence-building seven-match winning streak.

Scotland's Baltacha, 26, rose to a career-high ranking of 70th on Monday after winning the $100,000 ITF Dow Corning Classic in Michigan at the weekend.

Earlier on Thursday, Anne Keothavong continued her dream WTA Tour comeback with a 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Karolina Sprem to reach the semi-finals.

The Londoner is playing in her first main draw event after more than six months out with a knee injury.

Next up for the British No3 is Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson, with a possible final meeting with Sharapova, who now faces fifth-seeded Czech Petra Kvitova, awaiting the winner.