When it rains, it pours. On a windy day at Roland Garros, Maria Sharapova's well-documented service woes were at the forefront of her 6-4, 7-5 semifinal loss to Li Na. She hit 10 double faults in all, including one down match point you perhaps saw coming, not unlike Dinara Safina's double fault down championship point in the 2009 French Open final.
While Sharapova succumbed to serving struggles at critical moments, Li put her in those pressure-packed predicaments. The Chinese No. 1 took forceful cuts at Sharapova's serves and handled the conditions well. She has greater margin on her attacking strokes than Sharapova, and while the Russian would win a hardest-shot contest, there's nothing wrong with the way Li hits. Along with some help from Sharapova, Li took a 4-1 first-set lead, though she would fail to serve out the set at 5-3. Shortly after, Sharapova found herself in one of the aforesaid predicaments.
Down 0-15, Sharapova struck her fifth double fault of the set, then failed to win the next point and trailed 0-40. Li's offense was the predominant reason she won this match, but her defense was the main reason she won her first set point. Scrambling well beyond the baseline, Li got her racquet on multiple Sharapova shots, simply to keep the ball in play. After lofting a ball back, high in the air, it took a strange bounce and Sharapova hit a stranger-looking forehand. The ball clipped the net, shot wide, and Li had a one-set lead.
Sharapova's boldness would be rewarded in the subsequent set; she broke Li for a 2-0 advantage and was seemingly in control up 4-3. But a double fault was a prelude to a lost opportunity, as Li broke back and held for 5-4. Two games later, serving down 5-6, Sharapova's boldness would be punished. Facing three opponents—Li, her nerves and the wind—Sharapova crumbled in the final game, hitting two double faults, including the one you'll see on every highlight reel.
With the career Slam in sight, Sharapova didn't hold back—a net foray turned volley winner after a gutsy second serve late in the second set shouldn't go unmentioned. It's the only way she knows how to play, and therefore the only way she was going to win the French Open. Maybe next time. Li, on the other hand, has reached her second straight Grand Slam final. She nearly beat Kim Clijsters in Melbourne and has rediscovered her form on clay after an extended drought. She'll face either defending champion Francesca Schiavone or Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli. Maybe this time.
—Ed McGrogan