PARIS — Facing match point in the quarterfinals, Maria Sharapova was no longer focused on winning her first French Open title. She merely wanted to win a game.

That she did. A weary, rusty Sharapova barely averted a shutout but lost today to Dominika Cibulkova 6-0, 6-2.

Cibulkova was one point from victory at 5-love in the second set before Sharapova finally found her form. She won that game and then another, hitting a flurry of winners and saving four match points before Cibulkova closed out the win.

Sharapova was playing in just her second tournament after a layoff of nearly 10 months because of a right shoulder injury. The three-time Grand Slam champion had 27 unforced errors to nine for the No. 20-seeded Cibulkova, a Slovak who advanced to her first major semifinal.

Cibulkova's opponent Thursday will be top-ranked Dinara Safina, who rallied to beat Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

In men's play, Robin Soderling came up with an impressive encore to his upset of top-ranked Rafael Nadal by beating Nikolay Davydenko. The No. 23-seeded Soderling swept the first five games and won 6-1, 6-3, 6-1.

Soderling's opponent in his first Grand Slam semifinal will be No. 3 Andy Murray or No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez.

Sharapova had won three-setters in all four previous rounds at this year's tournament, and the long matches took a toll. Sharapova's legs looked wobbly, and she repeatedly hit the ball late and sent it wide against Cibulkova.

The 20-year-old Cibulkova relied on steady strokes from the baseline, and the margin in unforced errors in the opening set was 13-1.

The games were closer early in the second set, but Sharapova looked increasingly desperate. Caught out of position, she even tried a left-handed forehand.

It went wide too, putting her behind 5-love.

When Sharapova finally won a game by smacking a return winner, she reacted with only a subdued fist pump. She then clubbed three winners to hold at love for 5-2, but although she erased three match points in the next game, there would be no comeback.

Sharapova pushed a forehand into the net on the final point, and Cibulkova collapsed to the clay in glee and relief.

Safina, seeking her first Grand Slam title, lost only five games in the first four rounds. Against Azarenka, Safina was repeatedly lunging for shots early but regained her dominating form at 4-all in the second set.

Safina was the runner-up at the 2008 French Open and this year's Australian Open. She became No. 1 for the first time on April 20 and is 19-1 this year on clay.

On a cloudless, mild afternoon, the No. 9-seeded Azarenka played nearly flawless tennis at the outset. She hit 10 winners with one unforced error in the opening set, which took only 23 minutes.

But after Safina fell behind 1-love in the second set she dug in, running off four consecutive games. Her groundstrokes became steadier, while mistakes crept into Azarenka's play. The Belarussian double-faulted on consecutive points and made four unforced errors to lose a service game at love.

When Azarenka sailed a return long on the final point of the second set, she angrily threw down her racket, caught it on the bounce and threw it again as the crowd hooted.

By the final changeover, a frustrated Azarenka sat with a towel draped over her face. Safina, the sister of two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin, swept the last three games and the final five points.