Maria: Li Na blew me away

Sharapova, who hogged the limelight with her new line of sweets and debut on Twitter, had starred on the court too as she rampaged to the semi-finals for the loss of only nine games, a new tournament record.u00a0

China's Li Na during her semi-final match against Maria Sharapova yesterday. - AFP

But the World No 2 was unable to respond to a barrage of probing groundstrokes from Li as China's World No 6 dominated play and the scoreline, 6-2, 6-2. "I think she played a really great match," said Sharapova, who fell short of her eighth Grand Slam final.

"She was certainly much more aggressive than I was, dictating the play. I was always on the defence."