Former Wimbledon champion Sharapova was unseeded

Maria Sharapova's hopes of a third grass-court title in Birmingham came to an end as she lost in the semi-final of the Aegon Classic to Na Li.

The former Wimbledon champion, who won this title in 2004 and 2005, went down 6-4 6-4 to the Chinese fourth seed.

Sharapova, who was unseeded after injuries hit her world ranking, had her serve broken six times in the match.

Li faces Magdalena Rybarikova in the final after her 3-6 6-0 6-3 win over Sania Mirza in the other semi-final.

"My return of serve was so good," said Li. "I broke her many times so it did not feel like a grass court match.

"I lost to her so many times before, so I thought if I lose again then I should not worry. That made me very relaxed."

Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion, was content with her week's work on her return from nine months out after shoulder surgery.

"After such a long lay-off, every match and every situation is a different test to the body," said Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion.

"I still felt like I had many chances in this match, but I have played five matches in the last six days and I wasn't playing with the same intensity as I did in my previous matches.

"Against an opponent like her, the intensity has to be there the whole match. I just wasn't able to come through."

The Russian will spend next week making final preparations for Wimbledon.

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