Dinara Safina upset Maria Sharapova [Images] in a ferocious Russian catfight at the French Open on Sunday to reach her first grand slam quarter-final.

The 20-year-old looked a beaten woman when she trailed 5-1 in the final set but rattled off six successive games to complete a spectacular 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 victory over the 2004 Wimbledon champion on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Safina faces another Russian, Svetlana Kuznetsova, in the last eight.

Sharapova led 5-3 in the first set and had set points but Safina stung the former Wimbledon champion, whose tournament preparations were disrupted by an ankle injury, with a series of thudding groundstrokes to break twice and sneak it 7-5.

The effort took its toll on the younger sister of former men's world number one Marat Safin [Images]. Sharapova dominated the second set and looked on course for victory when she led 5-1 in the third.

However Safina, who reached the Italian Open final last month, summoned extra power from within and left Sharapova reeling under a barrage of thundering drives down both flanks.

Safina sealed the best win of her career with a crashing backhand pass on her first match point.

Kuznetsova, the 2004 US Open champion, also reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the first time when she battled back after a terrible start to beat Italian ninth seed Francesca Schiavone 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Kuznetsova also led 5-1 in the third set but unlike Sharapova, she withstood her opponent's comeback and held on to win.

On a frantic day of action, all eight women's fourth round matches and four men's fourth round matches are scheduled to be played.

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