Alison Riske won her quarter final match

While Maria Sharapova has dominated the headlines at the AEGON Classic in Birmingham, 19-year old Alison Riske has run off four straight wins after qualifying to earn her semifinal berth. The pretty blonde has done all that was asked, including quieting 20-year old 3rd seed slammer Yanina Wickmayer in the quarters.

Riske continued to play in the moment and will square off against grass court strong woman Maria Sharapova in today’s semifinal. The young American Cinderella has had to scratch and claw her way past 9th seed Caroline Wozniak and 3rd seeded Wickmayer and has the fans buzzing with her spirited play.

Against the talented Belgian, Alison battled back after a disheartening first set tiebreaker loss. As the 185th ranked player in the world, Riske showed plenty of courage in the 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-5 come from behind quarterfinal win against the taller, more experienced and more acclaimed Wickmayer.

Cinderella is finding a way to win. Much like Melanie Oudin did last season, the tireless Riske tracks everything down and stays in every point. The longer the match goes, the more dangerous Riske becomes. Her semifinal pairing with Sharapova will be the youngster’s biggest professional challenge. A win could catapult her past the midnight hour and into the spotlight.

The way she is playing, Sharapova represents a stern test for anyone right now. Grass has always been her favorite surface. She won Wimbledon at age 17 and has a 25-6 record there as well as a 30-4 record at Birmingham. She has always reached the semis here.

On Friday, the long Russian cruised past Sesil Karatantcheva in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. The two seed has now won eight straight sets and is serving with noticeably more velocity. Maria’s serve is the key to her success. Often topping off at more than 120 mph, opponents are unable to catch up with the Sharapova rockets.

Against Sesil, Maria broke three times and held serve throughout. Riske has shown an ability to overcome a similar pace deficit as she did against the powerful Wickmayer. Saturday’s match will be no pushover for the Russian glamour girl.

In the top bracket, number one seed Li Na put an end to Kaia Kanepi’s tournament 6-4, 6-2 after coming from behind against 13th seed Angelique Kerber in the morning. The Thursday match had been suspended due to darkness with the players square at one set apiece.

4th seeded Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai was pushed by 5th seed Sara Errani in an exciting 7-6 (2), 7-5 thriller. The two players went toe to toe with spectacular baseline power strokes. Ever since Madrid, Rezai has played with a gratifying confidence. The 5’5” fan-favorite has the weapons to take Li out. Saturday promises to be an exciting day in Birmingham.

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