>> Maria Sharapova won her second
French Open title in three years at Roland Garros on Saturday, defeating
Romania's Simona Halep 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 in a gripping final, the first to go
the full distance in Paris in 13 years and the second longest on record.
>> It was the 27-year-old Russian's
fifth Grand Slam title, bringing her level with Martina Hingis on the all-time
list and it came 10 years after she won her first major at Wimbledon 2004.
>> Sharapova, who completed a career
sweep of all four Grand Slam titles in Paris in 2012 before losing to Serena
Williams last year, also moved to number two on the all-time prize money
earnings, with only the American ahead of her.
>> But it took all her legendary grit
and resolve to recover from the loss of the second set on a tie-break after she
had stood just two points away from the title at 5/3.
>> "It's the toughest Grand Slam
final I have ever played," said Sharapova. "I can't believe that at
27 I have won the French Open more times than any other Grand Slam."
>> The consolation for Halep, whose
meteoric rise to the top bracket in women's tennis over the last 18 months has
projected her as a potential champion, was that she will climb to a career-high
third in the world rankings.
>> Fourth-seeded Halep did not drop a
single set in her six matches, while seventh-seed Sharapova needed to battle
back from first set losses in her three previous outings. But experience was
massively on the Russian's side. This was her ninth Grand Slam final dating
back 10 years, while Halep was playing in her first at the age of 22.
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