Four more women competed to join Lucie Safarova and Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals at Roland Garros on Wednesday. At the day’s end, a familiar name and a not so familiar one survived to continue their quest.

Serena powers past Errani

Top seed and world No. 1 Serena Williams was first up on Court Philippe Chatrier. She faced a tough clay-court player in Sara Errani. But the American used her power effectively and cruised to a 6-1 6-3 victory to advance to the semifinals.

Attempting to avoid a tournament trend in which she fell behind early, Williams gained a break advantage in just the second game. But Errani, whose quickness on defense makes her a difficult opponent on clay, immediately earned it back. However, her weakness became glaring as the set progressed. Setting up for her return of service inside the baseline, Williams pounced on the short serves from the Italian, firing strong cross-court strikes. The 28-year-old had no answer, and in less than 30 minutes, the American easily took the first set.

Williams addressed the importance of a fast start after the match, saying “I knew I had to start better today than the other days because she's a tough opponent who's got history here.”

In the second set, Errani appeared to gain confidence early and changed her strategy, becoming more aggressive. The strategy worked as she went toe-to-toe with the powerful Williams initially. But in the seventh game, Williams was able to break through on Errani’s service game once more. It proved to be all she would need, and despite a stronger effort by the veteran Italian, Williams closed out the set and match. Errani was never able to find an answer to the powerful Williams serve.

Williams credited a scare against the Italian in April’s Fed Cup play as a reason for her result. “I felt if I had not played that match (in the Fed Cup), I probably would still be out there fighting now,” she said. “She changed her game against me, and I knew what to expect this time.”

Bacsinszky reaches the semifinals

Two players who were not on the radar for a deep run at Roland Garros met on Court Suzanne Lenglen in the second quarterfinal. It was Timea Bacsinszky defeating Alison Van Uytvanck, 6-4 7-5.

In a first set in which the nerves of the two inexperienced players showed early, both found difficulty holding serve. However, Bacsinszky gained an upper hand, earning two quick breaks from the Belgian. And despite failing to protect her serve early, the Swiss settled into the match, controlling the tempo while striking 17 winners.

In the second set, both players found a groove, and the pair dueled with crisp, clean groundstrokes. But Bacsinszky found a late break in the 11th game and promptly closed out the match on her serve. She dictated play against her young opponent throughout the match, finishing with 39 winners.

The 25-year-old was thrilled with the result. “I'm proud of how I've been fighting. This was a difficult match. I had my tactics ready, but I needed to find a solution at the end to win,” she said.

Bacsinszky also had praise for her opponent afterwards, saying “She was in the quarters because she had played very well, so I had to battle like crazy, back to the wall.”

Bacsinszky joins Stan Wawrinka as the second Swiss player in the semifinals. She is the first Swiss woman to reach the semifinals since Martina Hingis in 2001 and will face Williams in the second semifinal on Thursday, with Williams holding a 2-0 head-to-head record against her.