French Open 2011 results from Day 12 at Roland Garros, where the field for the women’s final is set.
French Open 2011 Results: Francesca Schiavone Will Face Li Na In Women’s Final
No. 5 Francesca Schiavone def. No. 11 Marion Bartoli, 6-3 6-3. In front of a partisan home crowd determined to see the only French player remaining in the tournament through to the finals, the defending Roland Garros champ and her contingent of 50 fans emerged victorious. There’s no doubt after two straight-set victories in the semis this morning that the two fittest players are the two left standing.
Also clear is Schiavone’s prowess on clay, after her second consecutive run to the finals. Previously she’d only made it to the quarters once at Roland Garros, that in 2001, the second year of her pro career. She ends a historic run by Marion Bartoli, who’d never advanced past the fourth round (in 2007) on her native soil.
Schiavone will face No. 6 Li Na on Court Philippe Chatrier this Saturday to determine whose ascension to the top ranks of women’s tennis will stick.
Elsewhere at Roland Garros, the last vestiges of American interest have been swept away, with the top-ranked Bryan brothers recording a surprising straight-sets loss in the men’s doubles semifinal to Juan Sebastian Cabal and the astonishingly-named Eduardo Schwank. The Bryans are most at ease on hard courts, and haven’t made it to the finals here since 2006, but still must contend with the ignominy of letting an unseeded pair through to the last round.
Day 13 of play at Roland Garros 2011, featuring Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray in the men’s semifinals, will commence at 8 a.m. EDT Friday morning.
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