Maria Sharapova has crashed out of the AEGON Classic at Edgbaston in with a straight sets semi-final defeat to Na Li.
The former Wimbledon champion had been bidding for a third grass-court title in Birmingham after victories in 2004 and 2005, but was beaten 6-4, 6-4 by her Chinese opponent, the fourth seed.
The Russian, who had been unseeded after plunging down the rankings due to an injury lay-off, conceded six breaks of serve during a match which lasted an hour and 29 minutes.
Li, the highest-ranked player left in the competition, will face the winner of the semi-final between Magdalena Rybarikova and Sania Mirza in Sunday's final.
Sharapova had booked her place in the last four of a tournament in more than a year by beating Yanina Wickmayer 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 on Friday.
The former world No 1 struggled with her serve in the second set but regained her stride in the third to break her 19-year-old opponent twice for a 5-1 lead.
Sharapova had 11 double-faults with a remodelled serve to protect her shoulder, which required surgery last year and sidelined her for 10 months.
“I kind of lost the momentum and made more errors than I would have preferred, and she gained confidence from that,” Sharapova said. “Once she had broken me, she kept swinging away and came up with some great shots.”
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