Sharapova blows away Li to make China Open final

BEIJING, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- World No. 2 Maria Sharapova took eight games in a row to cruise past home favourite Li Na 6-4, 6-0 in the semifinals at China Open here on Saturday.

Sharapova, who entered the final without dropping a single set, demolished Li's hope to become the first Chinese finalist here, under the witness of some 15,000 home crowd in the National Tennis Stadium.

The Russian second seed will bid for her first China Open title when she takes on Victoria Azarenka in Sunday's final. The Polish top seed defeated Marion Bartoli of Germany 6-4, 6-2 in another semifinals.