Uzair Rizvi BeyondHeadlines
The women’s final at French Open 2011 is set as Li Na becomes the first Chinese to reach the French Open final, earlier this year she was the runner up at the Australian Open, making this her second consecutive Grand Slam final appearance.
Here she will face the defending Champion Francesca Schiavone, who is bidding for her second consecutive French Open title.
Sharapova’s 10th double fault of the error filled afternoon gave Li Na a place in the finals as she won the game by 6-4 , 7-5.The result ended Sharapova’s chance to complete her career Grand Slam ,allowing Li Na to go through her second straight Grand Slam final.
Schiavone won her semi final battle quite easily as she piped 11th ranked Bartoli in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.Last year she became the first Italian women to win a Grand Slam as she won the French Open and now she is ready to defend her championship.
At 30, Schiavone would be the first women to win a Grand Slam since Martina Navratilova’s Wimbledon victory in 1993 when she was 33.Li is 29, their combined age makes this the oldest Grand Slam final since at Wimbledon in 1998.
Schiavone seemed to be like a fine wine, getting better with the age. Only Li stands in her way. Possibly, the shortest name in the Tennis history.
The two have met four times with each winning twice with Schiavone winning the most recent match, in the third round in Paris last year.
Li needs to overcome just one more hurdle to make her dream come true while Schiavone is credited with the inspirational power of the clay court competition for her progress.
Though Schiavone is the most favorite option to put money on but still the Li’s fighting spirit might just prove to be a bit edgy for the Italian. It would be a perfect win for both the oldies to turn into classics before ending the things.
