Sharapova closer to career Grand Slam

Maria Sharapova moved to within two wins of a career Grand Slam yesterday when she defeated Germany’s Andrea Petkovic 6-0, 6-3 to reach her second French Open semi-final.

The seventh seed, who next faces Li Na, the sixth seed, for a place in the final, also ended Petkovic’s hopes of becoming the first German in the last four in Paris since Steffi Graf in 1999.

Li became the first Chinese player to reach a French Open semi-final with an upset 7-5, 6-2 win over fourth seed Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus.

Sharapova, a semi-finalist in 2007, was in unstoppable form in the first set, breaking in the first, third and fifth games before taking the opener 6-0 with the Russian allowing the German just seven points on her serve.

The Russian star, who needs a French Open title to become just the 10th woman to complete a career Grand Slam, hit deep, pinpoint winners off both flanks.

Petkovic, who had defeated Sharapova to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final in Australia in January, was quickly 0-2 down in the second set before she stopped the rot, finally getting on the scoreboard after 51 minutes.

Petkovic then broke for 3-3 after a lengthy sixth game, but Sharapova once again summoned her famed fighting spirit. She retrieved the break to lead 4-3 and held for 5-3.

Sharapova went to two match points in the ninth game with another booming forehand and claimed victory when Petkovic dumped a tired forehand into the net.

Li, who converted to tennis as a nine-year-old after an early groun-ding in badminton, saved two break points in a marathon seventh game before finally taking a 4-3 lead.

The Belarusian was being made to work hard by her Chinese opponent who varied her shots to great effect.

Those tactics worked a treat in the 12th game when she twice wrong-footed the fourth-seed to get to 0-40 and then clinched the set with a rasping backhand crosscourt drive.

The Chinese player was clearly the quicker about the court of the two players and it was footwork again that let down Azarenka in the second set.

Today’s other semi-final opposes defending champion Francesca Schiavone and Marion Bartoli.