It wouldn't be fair to say that Maria Sharapova double-faulted her way out of the 2011 French Open, simply because Li Na has been so very impressive from the beginning, but she certainly did make a case in the semifinals. The seventh-seeded Russian fell in two sets 6-4, 7-5. It was a hellish day on the court by Roland Garros standards, with winds up to 31 MPH blowing clay around and generally unbalancing the level of play. Sharapova, as stated, got the worst of it with ten double faults in the match.
Sharapova had started the second set well after struggling through the first, taking a 4-2 lead over Li Na. Unfortunately, she double faulted on a Li break point and from there it was downhill. Sharapova was broken five times to Li's three, and had twenty-eight unforced errors. Sharapova will be looking ahead to grass court season, while Li will advance to the finals.
She'll be taking on the defending champion, Francesca Schiavone, who disappointed the hometown by defeating the French number one Marion Bartoli in straight sets. The final scores for that one were 6-3, 6-3. Schiavone did not dominate play through out, the match features extended rallies of beautiful tennis from both sides, but her winners were on point and that's all it takes. Schiavone fought for ever point and made her way around the court like she was fighting away a break point every time.
Bartoli struggled with Schiavone's aggressive play at the net, the spin was just too much in the end. The matchup with Li Na should be a great one, as Schiavone is extremely strong at the French Open, but Li is someone who has fought through time and time again and looks as though she's always going to find a way to pull out a win.