TENNIS:THE WOMEN'S game has come in for a lot of criticism over the past 10 days, some of it valid, much of it too simplistic.
Already weakened by the absence of Serena and Venus Williams through injury, early defeats for the top three seeds made the women’s event here an easy target for those who feel it is a poor cousin of the men’s game.
As it usually does, though, the cream has risen to the top. The defending champion, Francesca Schiavone, and the home hope, Marion Bartoli, had already booked their places in the last four and yesterday they were joined by a rampant Russian in Maria Sharapova and a joyful Li Na of China.
Sharapova crushed the German Andrea Petkovic 6-0 6-3 while Li upset the number four seed and pre-tournament favourite, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, 7-5 6-2.
Each of the four semi-finalists are ranked inside the world’s top 11 and all four have been to a grand slam final. Any one of them would make a more than worthy champion.
Sharapova’s triumph over Petkovic was revenge for her defeat by the German in the Australian Open in January and more evidence that the former world number one is getting back to her best. Her depth and power were engulfing and her service returns were more like missiles. A shell-shocked Petkovic, ranked 12, never stood a chance.
It is an impressive comeback from Sharapova when you think what she has been through since she added the Australian Open in 2008 to her Wimbledon (2004) and US Open (2006) triumphs. A shoulder injury later the same year required surgery, she did not play singles again until the summer of 2009 and attempts to change her service action to protect her shoulder simply resulted in a stack of double-faults.
However, since she changed her racket at the start of this year she has been transformed. Having once described her movement on clay as like “a cow on ice”, she won the first big clay-court title of her career in Rome last month and is in a grand slam semi-final for the first time in more than three years. If she continues to pound the ball as she did yesterday, she is the woman to beat.
“There’s no doubt there have been tough moments but I don’t think without tough moments the good ones would feel so good,” she said. “I’ve definitely stepped it up and I feel like I’m playing better.”
The Russian has won five of her seven meetings with Li but at 29 the Chinese is playing the best tennis of her career. After becoming the first player from her country to reach a grand slam final, at the Australian Open in January, she did not win a match until the middle of April. But clay, previously considered her weakest surface, has brought about a resurgence and she is two wins away from a first grand slam title.
One break, in the 12th game, gave Li the first set and she broke again to lead 4-2 before clinching victory on her third match point. “After I won the match I was feeling: ‘Wow, I can reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros’,” she said. “I never thought about that before. So many people thought I’m not so good on clay but I think now they should change a little bit.”
Schiavone was the darling of Paris last year but today she will be the villain against Bartoli, the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2007. If the Italian could regain her title it would perhaps be even more incredible than her win 12 months ago. But if Bartoli becomes the first French finalist here since Mary Pierce in 2005, the tension in the stands come Saturday might just be unbearable.
Guardian Service
