In two well-played semifinal matches at windy Roland Garros, the shorter players ruled. Spunky 6 seed, Li Na pressured Maria Sharapova throughout the 6-4, 7-5 win. In the second semifinal, defending champion Francesca Schiavone continued her miraculous quest to repeat as champion with a convincing 6-3, 6-3 win over Marion Bartoli. Despite the home field advantage, Schiavone was the more comfortable competitor.

Maria Sharapova Out of French Open 2011

In the day’s first match, the leggy Sharapova could not keep pace with the fleet Li. The Russian ran China’s best player from sideline to sideline but to no avail. Li made spectacular retrieves and waited for Sharapova to commit errors. The 6’0” Russian only had 12 winners compared to 28 unforced errors while the poised Li had 23 unforced errors but 24 winners.

After Li served out the first set, Sharapova gained an early break and a solid hold to go up 3-0. Maria was relying on her serve to neutralize Li’s outstanding court position. However, Sharapova had trouble controlling her ball toss with the gusting winds. She had 10 double faults and no aces, but she went through a series of easy service game wins before the irrepressible Li began to zero in on everything Maria hit.

In successive matches, Li defeated two of the game’s tallest and most powerful players in fourth seeded Victoria Azarenka and Sharapova in straight sets. As well as Li patrolled the territory behind the baseline, she seemed to have the ability to manipulate the points to her advantage. Her quick feet frustrated the more powerful players who could not get the ball past the dynamo.

Known as a stronger hard court player, Li has played brilliantly at Roland Garros and will give the reigning champion her strongest test yet. Prior to the commencement of play, it was generally assumed that the winner of the lower half of the draw would emerge the tournament champion.

Schiavone appears to be in better form than she was at last year’s stunning tournament. After defeating young Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a tough three set match, Schiavone has shown the ability to stand up to challenges from players and hometown crowds.

Thursday’s highly partisan crowd roared with every Bartoli shot and winced with every miss. Schiavone made sure there were plenty of those. Bartoli lacked the power and confidence to compete against the Italian. Schiavone’s win was a strategic success as well as a flawless exhibition of clay court tennis.

Ironically, both finalists were having subpar years before rising to the occasion in Paris. The finals should be a stirring display of tennis on the red clay. Basically, the two finalists have similar styles of play. Li is 5’8” and Schiavone is 5’6” in heels. The Italian has a slight edge in her ability to win points at the net. But, both players are used to directing the pace of the opponent’s ball. The finals will be a match with less pace than usual but lots of long points and two players willing to run for miles to win the day.

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