MARIA SHARAPOVA TO PLAY SIMONA HALEP FOR THE FRENCH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Written by: Staff on 5th June 2014

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

MARIA SHARAPOVA TO PLAY SIMONA HALEP FOR THE FRENCH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

epa04232628 Maria Sharapova of Russia in action during her third round match against Paula Ormaechea of Argentina for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 30 May 2014. EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT |

All Set For Saturday Afternoon

By Cheryl Jones

Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep have a date on Saturday. They will meet in the women’s singles final. Once Serena Williams was bounced out of Roland Garros, the ladder of success (as it appeared to me at least), would lead to the two women that will be in contention for the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen. (Sharapova already has one and is looking for a pair to make her collection balance just right.)

In a mid-afternoon showdown on Thursday afternoon, Sharapova dashed the hopes of the most promising woman to come out of Canada since Joni Mitchell. Since Mitchell is a singer, Eugenie Bouchard had to take up the slack in the tennis world, and today, she was well on her way to a victory when Sharapova did her usual ramping up the pace and took the match to three sets. It has been her theme for the past three encounters on clay, and she was adept at pulling out the win, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

The erstwhile Russian will have Romanian, Halep as her opponent. Halep was the Junior Filles Champ in Paris in 2008. Today she is looking forward to adding a page to the record book as an adult, but Sharapova may have some input in that area. Halep has spent the past six years honing her game and silently climbing higher in the rankings. Even before the Babolat All Court balls made their first pass over the net at Roland Garros, she was ranked #4 in the world. No matter what happens Saturday that ranking will be nudged ahead just a tick to number three.

Following Halep’s match with Andrea Petkovic, where she eked out a win, 6-2, 7-6, she spoke of her utter amazement at getting that invite to the last day of women’s competition. “I said many times that the ranking is not really important for me. More important is to play, to win many more matches and to play finals and to win titles. I didn’t expect this last year, but if I’m here, I have to enjoy the moment and to take more confidence in myself.”

Maria Sharapova may have something to say about that. Her own maturity as a competitor belies her 27 years. (She was only a tad over 17 when she won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2004.) After her own tough match with Bouchard today, she spoke of “her” generation being “older” when comparing herself to the young Canadian. It is relative in a physical way; one that seems a bit of a stretch to anyone over forty, but it seems as if tennis stars travel up the rankings in packs. (i.e. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have moved up the rankings almost simultaneously, as did Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. I could go on, but you get the picture.)

After the match she pointed out, “Well, I still have the hunger, even though I’m in a different generation. She can go into a match like today and play freely and loosely…” And, she did, but Sharapova’s maturity shined through and she will pack that in her little bag of tricks on Saturday and give Ms. Halep a run for the roses that always accompany the Coupe.

Tomorrow, it will be the men facing off in Philippe Chatrier. Eight-time Roland Garros Champ, Rafael Nadal will try to make it past Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic will try to shut down the upstart in the men’s side of the tournament, Ernests Gulbis, who as the 18th seed is the lowest ranked player in the semis. The weather looks to be just what tennis fans ordered. It should be sunny and clear all the way through Sunday. Tomorrow will be a day of reckoning for all; a day of victory for only two. Rafa would agree, No?

Topics: Andrea Petkovic, Andy Murray, Cheryl Jones, Eugenie Bouchard, French Open, Maria Sharapova, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Roland Garros, Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

June 5, 2014 at 8:29 pm

MARIA SHARAPOVA TO PLAY SIMONA HALEP FOR THE FRENCH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS – http://t.co/1kFROpykck @MariaSharapova @HalepSimona #RG14 #tennis
RD_Tennistalk says:

June 5, 2014 at 8:42 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: MARIA SHARAPOVA TO PLAY SIMONA HALEP FOR THE FRENCH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS – http://t.co/1kFROpykck @MariaSharapova @HalepSim…