The semifinal round of the 2011 French Open gets going on Thursday with the women's semfinals going a day before the men's semifinals. Number six seed Na Li faces number seven seed Maria Sharapova, while number five seed Francesca Schiavone faces number eleven seed Marion Bartoli. You can view the entire day twelve schedule at rolandgarros.com as we'll have a host of doubles and other matchups. Coverage will once again be featured on the Tennis Channel (on TV and online) and ESPN2 (on TV and online).
Thursday's television coverage is diced up a bit more given the fact that we have fewer matches. It opens on the Tennis Channel beginning at 2:00am pacific with coverage of the men's doubles semifinals. Tennis Channel live coverage will be preceded by French Open Tonight, which will provide previews and updates heading into Thursday's coverage. If you don't get the sports package that includes the Tennis Channel, or you'll be away from your TV during the coverage, tennischannel.com is kind enough to provide a free live online stream of their coverage.
ESPN2 will then pick up coverage beginning at 5am pacific and lasting until 10:00am pacific. This will cover the two women's semifinals matches. If you're away from your TV or don't have cable, you can watch a live online stream of ESPN2's coverage. The Tennis Channel will follow ESPN2's live coverage with a replay of the women's semifinals from 10am to 3:30pm, followed by French Open Tonight to wrap up the evening.
We'll be providing wall-to-wall coverage of the 2011 French Open over the next two weeks. Check back in our French Open 2011 story stream for news, analysis and other details. For more detailed conversation, join the folks at The Daily Forehand.