Sharapova Overcomes Serving to Reach French QF as Li Crashes out
Despite tumbling to the clay and struggling with her serve, Maria Sharapova moved closer to her first French Open title by reaching the quarterfinals with a ragged 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2 victory Monday over unseeded Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic.
In the third set, Sharapova occasionally clutched at or flexed her right wrist.
On a windy, rainy afternoon, when both players slipped during points, the second-seeded Sharapova finished with 12 double-faults and was broken nine times, including three when serving for the match.
But she broke the 44th-ranked Zakopalova 12 times, including the final game.
Sharapova is trying to complete a career Grand Slam at age 25. She never has made it past the semifinals at Roland Garros.
Zakopalova never before went beyond a major's second round.
Elsewhere, Li Na's French Open title defense ended Monday with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 fourth-round loss to 142nd-ranked qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan.
Shvedova, a doubles specialist who teamed with Vania King to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2010, made the French Open singles draw as a qualifier and became only the ninth qualifier to make it to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. This matches the furthest she's ever gone in a Grand Slam singles draw.
The seventh-seeded Li's loss leaves no former French Open champions left in the women's draw.
Last year at Roland Garros, she became the first player from China to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Source: Associated Press
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