Jul 4, 2006, 16:12 GMT
London - Former champion Maria Sharapova got the giggles as she recalled a male streaker who briefly interrupted her 6-1, 6-4 Wimbledon victory Tuesday over fellow Russian Elena Dementieva.
The unplanned distraction got a laugh out of Dementieva, but Sharapova preferred to turn away away during the quarter-final episode.
'I didn't really look at the guy, thank God. I didn't want to look at all the details,' said one of the leggy pin-ups of the sport who lifted the Wimbledon title in 2004.
The second-set interruption, not unknown at the All England club, was more light-hearted than threatening.
'You look at the security guards and they're laughing. I mean... it's hard to be frightened then,' said the fourth seed. 'Then they took out these red blankets.
'They must have been prepared. It was real bizarre. Even more bizarre that it took 10 seconds for security to come out.'
Dementieva, a two-time Grand Slam finalist, had her only flicker of hope while trailing a set and 4-1. Two double-faults from Sharapova gave Dementieva an opening, which she took for 2-4, following on with a love game to pull to 3-4.
But the determined Sharapova regained her momentum to serve out victory with a love game.
She plays the winner from a match between top seed Amelie Mauresmo and 2004 French Open champion Anastasia Myskina, the third Russian to reach the quarter-finals.
Sharapova, who needed three sets to get past her previous opponent, was happy with the straight-sets victory.
'I definitely played a lot better than I did yesterday, and I knew I had to if I wanted to win. It was just a matter of going out there and improving on my previous round.'
Third seed Justine Henin-Hardenne advanced over French qualifier Severine Bremond, France, 6-4-, 6-4 with the Belgian now having won her last 16 matches including Paris and Eastbourne titles.
Your Talkback on this Story