20 year old left-hander Makarova broke Petrova's serve to begin the match and took a 2-0 lead, before the world number 22 broke back decisively to make it 4-4, then did so once more to win the set.

The second set started in the same fashion, with Petrova losing her serve, although this time the powerful Russian, who was starting to find the line with many of her shots, managed to break back straight away.

Moments before breaking her younger compatriot's serve once more, Petrova volleyed a simple shot into the net. She picked up the ball only to hit the net again, before pausing and dinking the ball into court at the third time of asking, much to the amusement of the windswept centre court crowd.

Petrova, making her second appearance in Eastbourne, stressed the importance of having fun on the court.

"When you enjoy it, everything falls for you," she said. "As soon as you think about winning there is no way you can perform at a good level.

"I was very proud of myself," she continued, referring to her interaction with the crowd.

"I missed a drop shot, an important shot on my backhand, and I made a joke out of it. And then the next points went my way. I kept it positive and then things fell right for me."

Petrova, who faces the powerful Australian Sam Stouser in the semi-final, says she is not yet thinking about winning the tournament.

"I still have another two matches to win and tomorrow is a completely different day," she said. "Playing Sam is going to be quite a tough match for me."

Meanwhile, second seed Marion Bartoli also breezed through into the semi-finals, defeating Russian qualifier Alisa Kleybanova 6-3, 6-3.