June 28, 2011 -- Updated 2059 GMT (0459 HKT)
Maria Sharapova is the hot favorite to add this year's Wimbledon title to her tournament victory in 2004.
(CNN) -- Tournament favorite Maria Sharapova powered into the Wimbledon women's singles semifinals on Tuesday, crushing Dominika Cibulkova for the loss of just two games.
Fifth seed Sharapova, the 2004 champion and only grand slam winner left in the women's draw, proved in a different league to Slovakian Cibulkova, taking just under an hour to reach the last four 6-1 6-1.
Cibulkova, seeded 24th, had stunned world number one Caroline Wozniakci in the last 16, but could not match that performance on Centre Court, as Russian Sharapova reached the semifinals at the All England Club for the first time since losing to Amelie Mauresmo in 2006.
The 24-year-old Sharapova told reporters: "It's an honor to be in the semifinal at Wimbledon.
"It's a few years since I've got past the fourth round so it's a great chance to take it a step further," she added.
"Every opponent is different. I have a tough opponent coming up and I'm looking forward to the match.
"She's confident and playing great grass court tennis," continued Sharapova, who has yet to drop a set in the tournament so far.
Sharapova's semifinal opponent is unseeded German Sabine Lisicki, who continued her remarkable run of form by defeating Marion Bartoli of France in three sets.
Ninth seed Bartoli came into the tournament on a high after winning the warm-up event at Eastbourne, and she maintained that momentum by putting out defending champion Serena Williams in the last 16.
However, wild card entrant Lisicki, who had beaten French Open champion Li Na in an earlier round, proved far too strong in the decisive third set, going through 6-4 6-7 6-1 to become the first German woman to reach a grand slam semifinal since compatriot Steffi Graf in 1999.
Czech Petra Kvitova is also through to the semifinals after a battling three-set victory over Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova.
Both players had reached the last four of last year's tournament, losing to Serena Williams and Vera Zvonareva respectively, and it was eighth seed Kvitova who got there again -- going through 6-3 6-7 6-2.
Kvitova is aiming to become the first left-hander to win the women's title since Martina Navratilova in 1990.
The final semifinal was held up because of heavy rain at Wimbledon, and was eventually switched to Centre Court under the roof, where fourth seed Victoria Azarenka claimed a comfortable 6-3 6-1 victory over unseeded Austrian Tamira Paszek.
The 21-year-old Belarussian had lost her four previous grand slam quarterfinals, but was never in danger against her unseeded opponent, who was reaching her first grand slam quarterfinal.
Azarenka will now face Kvitova for a place in the final, in a repeat of their match here 12 months ago, which went the Czech's way.
Credit: CNN (www.cnn.com)
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