Rome: SF wrap-up and Final preview

Sigh... Just when I thought Serena was committed to tennis, she pulls out of the SFs due to a "lower back injury". As a result of that, Li Na cruises to the finals without even hitting a ball. I can only say to Serena, don't ever ever commit to 2 tournaments in a row girl if you're not going to be "injured".

(2) Maria Sharapova def. (12) Angelique Kerber 6-3 6-4

As expected, Sharapova advances to another Rome final. She was just too good for Kerber today, who kind of stunk up the court today. Kerber's winners to errors ratio is just laughable. However, she has already reached the top 10 with this result and I'm sure she's very satisfied. As for Maria, she's chasing her 2nd straight Rome title here on the red clay. I would have never thought that Sharapova can win on the slow red clay. She has proven me wrong. I have to respect her for her determination.

Final showdown: (8) Li Na vs. (2) Maria Sharapova

Li Na has a habit of losing to players ranked higher than her this year. So will she turn the tide here? Or will she fall again to yet another higher ranked player? The head-to-head between these 2 players is 6-4 in favour of the Russian. However, Li Na won their last clash on clay last year in the Roland Garros SF. Sharapova did annihilate Li in Miami this year but that was on hard courts. So this clash should be interesting. Will the Chinese be able to stop Maria from defending her title? Or will Sharapova bulldoze her way to another red clay title?

Pick: Sharapova defends her title in 3 tight sets