BEIJING - Maria Sharapova brushed aside Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets (6-0, 6-4) to meet the former World No.1 Ana Ivanovic at the China Open semifinals.

Kuznetsova, the 2009 China Open champion, lost the match in one hour and twenty-five minutes. The pair just met last week at the Wuhan Open, with Sharapova coming back from a set down to win in three sets, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

"We've always had very difficult matches, and the one in Wuhan was no different. I had a little bit of a slow start there. I definitely wanted to do that differently this time, which I was happy with today," Sharapova commented.

Sharapova will now play the ninth seed Ana Ivanovic, who received a quarterfinal walkover from the second seed Simona Halep after the 23-year-old had to withdraw from the tournament due to a hip injury.

Sharapova won eight times in her 12 meetings with Ivanovic, but Serb has won their last two meetings, both this year, in the third round of Rome and in the semifinals of Cincinnati.

"It was a very tough match we had in Cincinnati - I was just a point away from winning the match," Sharapova recalled. "It was a tough one to lose. I felt like I was down and out, and then I gave myself a chance to get back into it. I'll be looking to get a better start this time than I did over there."

They might meet again at the WTA Finals in Singapore in a few weeks, as Ivanovic's qualification was just announced Thursday.