Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova:  Maria Sharapova with score 6-4, 7-5 to reach the French Open final and take a step closer to becoming the first Asian to win a grand slam singles title.

In the first set, Li raced into a 3-0 lead and broke three times as Sharapova, who took two games off the Chinese player's serve, struggled for rhythm in the wind and on the clay.

An awful double fault from Li early in the second set let the Russian back in but the three-times grand slam champion wasted the advantage when she committed the same error for 4-4.

"She had a huge big serve so I thought please double fault so I can win the match," Li, said. "I never believed myself that I could be in the French Open final, I wish I can do even better in Saturday's final. It was a tough match."