POWERPACKED: Russia’s Maria Sharapova serves to Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska during their Women’s fourth round match in the French Open tennis championship at the Roland Garros stadium. Sharapova won 7-6 (7/4), 7-5. (AFP
AFP/Paris

Fourth seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Chinese sixth seed Li Na set up a French Open quarter-final showdown yesterday, with both women bidding to reach the semi-finals for the first time.
Azarenka, the top-seeded player left in the women’s draw after Caroline Wozniacki, Kim Clijsters and Vera Zvonareva were eliminated, defeated unseeded Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-3 on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
She will now face Li, who had earlier become the first player from China to reach the Roland Garros quarter-finals with a disjointed 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 defeat of 21-year-old Czech ninth seed Petra Kvitova.
Despite her superior seeding, Azarenka has beaten Li just once in four attempts—most recently losing in the last 16 at the Australian Open—and has never gone beyond the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam. “I’m in a different chapter of my career,” said Azarenka.
“It’s going to be a different quarter-final for me. But I’m feeling really confident and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Having broken Makarova’s serve at the first attempt, Azarenka conceded the break with a double-fault in the next game but then broke again to go 4-2 up when Makarova clipped a forehand into the tramlines.
The Belarusian took the first set with a backhand return winner and there were four breaks of serve apiece in the second set before a long forehand from Makarova handed Azarenka what proved to be the decisive break.
Azarenka converted her first match point when Makarova put a forehand beyond the baseline, sending the world number four into the last eight at a Grand Slam for the fourth time in her career.
Li became the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam final at the Australian Open, but she had to fight back from 3-0 down in the final set to overcome Kvitova in an error-strewn match.
Li made 19 unforced errors to her opponent’s 33 but said her lack of claycourt pedigree should not prevent her from aiming high.
“If I win in the fourth round, what should I say?” asked Li, who has now reached the last eight at all four Grand Slams.
“(That) I played bad tennis? I don’t think so. I’ve tried to keep the same level as Melbourne, or even better.
“I didn’t like claycourts, but I’m still in the quarter-finals.”