The long and short of Wednesday’s women play is that Maria Sharapova and Li Na will join defending champion Francesca Schiavone and France’s favorite daughter, Marion Bartoli, in the semifinals. Both semifinal matches will be played at Roland Garros on Thursday.

Schiavone may be defending the title but she will play second fiddle to France’s own Marion Bartoli. Bartoli’s somewhat surprising path to the finals is sure to have the home crowd in a frenzy. Paris has seen Gael Monfils and Jo Willy Tsonga go down without making a loud splash but Bartoli’s strong play has given the French hope.

Bartoli will fill the house, but it will not bother the tourney tested Schiavone who is the permanent underdog. Schiavone will turn a deaf ear to the crowd and may well carry the play to Bartoli. The runs by these two competitors were unexpected by fans and bookmakers alike.

On Wednesday, Russia’s six foot blonde beauty, Maria Sharapova, struck with lightning force and overwhelmed Germany’s Andrea Petkovic in a 6-0, 6-3 thrashing. Petkovic lost the first nine games before she got her feet and power game in gear.

Sharapova continues to earn kudos for the improvements in her service game. Always feared because of her lethal forehand, the serve is a new weapon in the Russian’s arsenal. Her second serve has more velocity than the first serve of her next opponent.

What became painfully apparent to Petkovic is that the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament is not the time to arrive unprepared. Petkovic seemed awed by her good fortune while Sharapova was not satisfied with reaching the semis. Indeed, winning at Paris would highlight the clay court season in which Maria will have claimed two of the biggest prizes in Rome and in Paris.

The long-legged Sharapova will surely be tested by the 6 seed and proven dynamo Li Na. Li sent the fourth seed, Victoria Azarenka, packing in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2.

In dismantling Azarenka, Li was successful feeding of her opponents pace as she redirected shot after shot. The harder Azarenka hit the ball, the quicker it came back. The first Chinese player to reach the semifinals at Roland Garros will use the same strategy against Sharapova.

Azarenka finally had some success trying to get Li moving vertically rather than scampering laterally deep behind the baseline. Give Sharapova’s competitive nature she will be ready for the Li defense which means being ready to hit more balls than usual.

The seventh ranked Sharapova has won 5 of her seven matches against the sixth ranked Li. This promises to be a hard-fought match.

Marion Bartoli has played Francesca Schiavone five times with the defending French Open Champion winning 4 of those matches. This is a more confident Bartoli but Schiavone can wear on players. She is playing with great passion and has improved in every round.

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