The pink-and-peach ensemble Maria Sharapova wore on court was reminiscent of the Art Deco structures on South Beach, but by the time Sharapova was finished deconstructing Li Na's forehand with bruising efficiency, a black-and-blue color scheme might have been more appropriate. Sharapova stopped a four-match losing skid to Li in stirring style, winning eight straight games to seal a 6-3, 6-0 beatdown and storm into the Miami semifinals for the fourth time in seven appearances.
The second-seeded Russian, who had lost eight straight sets to Li, beat the reigning Roland Garros champion for the first time since the 2009 French Open. Shrugging off the 11 double faults she committed against Ekaterina Makarova in Monday's fourth round, Sharapova—whose coach, Thomas Hogstedt previously coached Li—came out with a clear game plan: attack the forehand relentlessly until the No. 8 seed bled errors.
It was a scratchy start as the pair traded successive love breaks in the fourth and fifth games. By that point things were so ugly on serve, the server had won just three points through five games, as the receiver won 11 consecutive points. To put that in perspective, Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic combined for six breaks in three sets last night; Li and Sharapova matched that in nine games today. To be fair, the 2 p.m. start meant both women were squinting into the sun on serve and trying to blink back the blind spot on their first shot. When Sharapova fired a forehand winner down the line she mercifully ended the serving struggles, registering the first hold 21 minutes into the match to take a 4-2 lead. A surging Sharapova won eight straight points to end the opening set in 33 minutes.
Li is an intelligent woman—she took time off from tennis to attend college—but she brain-cramped with some mind-numbing shot selection, including on set point, when she tried to hit her forehand down the line off a deep Sharapova drive, missing the mark by five feet. Li was either spooked by Sharapova's power or simply unwilling to grind and defend a bit and use her athleticism to try to drag the three-time Grand Slam champion into longer rallies. Watching Li's forehand deteriorate was almost as painful as scratching severe sunburn with sand paper—she made 41 unforced errors compared to Sharapova's 18.
The three-time Miami finalist won 12 of the first 15 points to take command of the second set, 3-0, draining any remaining drama. The 68-minute match ended when Li's forehand trickled off the top of the tape and dribbled wide.
"I lost to her the last few times, so I was eager to go out there and play smarter and better," said Sharapova, who reached her third semifinal in four events this year.
Every time Sharapova has contested a quarterfinal in Miami, she's gone on to reach the final. She will face either five-time champion Serena Williams, who has won seven of their nine meetings, or fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, whom she leads 4-3 in their head-to-head series.