Maria Sharapova, the No. 1 seed and a two-time champion in Birmingham, beat Marion Bartoli of France 7-5, 6-0 in a semifinal on Sunday. Bartoli, who completed her suspended quarterfinal earlier Sunday, defeated third-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 5-7, 6-4, 7-5.

The match between Sharapova and Bartoli was temporarily delayed when two spectators needed medical assistance – a woman was left unconscious after falling down a staircase, and a man in another part of the stadium fainted. The helicopter had to be sent to take the woman to the hospital.

Second-seeded Jelena Jankovic reached the final by defeating Italy’s Mara Santangelo 6-1, 7-5.

The final will take place also on Sunday; I’ll keep you posted! (via ESPN)

Top-seeded Maria Sharapova (BTW, currently the highest-paid female athlete) had to win two matches on Saturday to reach the last four of the rain-hit DFS Classic. She beat Austria’s Tamira Paszek 6-3 4-6 6-2 in a much-delayed third-round match. Sharapova had an easier time against Elena Likhovtseva, seeing off her fellow Russian 6-2 6-3 to reach the semi-finals.

"Mentally, you have to be ready for a very long day. You have to be ready no matter how many stops there are,” Maria, the 2004 Wimbledon champion, commented on the rain which constantly interrupted the tournament.

Sharapova missed two months earlier this year due to a right shoulder injury and hopes her crowded schedule doesn't make it worse. Read more »

The DFS Classic has started on Monday, and world No. 2 Maria Sharapova is glad to be back on the grass courts of the Edgbaston Priory Club.

Maria, the No. 1 seed, is a regular in Birmingham – this is the fifth year in a row that she plays at this event; she was the champion in 2004 and 2005.

“It brings back so many good memories, especially here because before I won my first Grand Slam at Wimbledon I won here, so that was pretty exciting,” said the Russian star.

“I always see the same people here every year. The same volunteers and members of the club and it’s great. When you don’t see people for a year and you come back (and) they were around when you had great results, it makes it home away from home in a way,” Maria added.

We all know that during this year Maria had problems with injuries, especially with her right shoulder. However, she doesn’t think that it will cause her any problems this week. “I’ll have to monitor it. At the French Open I felt it from time to time in certain matches. But I don’t think it limited me too much. We’ll see how it is.”

Birmingham is the first event of the grass season before Wimbledon which begins in two weeks time. (via DFS Classic)