The Russian had to
unleash some of her best tennis to defeat Simona Halep and win a second
French Open crown under sunny Parisian skies Saturday.
Sharapova, whose last
grand slam victory came on the Roland Garros clay in 2012, saw off the
rising Romanian star 6-4 6-7(5) 6-4 after a tight tussle.
Halep, the world No.4, was playing in her first grand slam final but she showed few signs of being overwhelmed by the occasion.
Refusing to succumb to
Sharapova's power play, the Romanian forced a second set tiebreak and
fought back from 5-3 down to win the breaker and take the final into a
deciding set.
The pendulum swung
between the two players in the third set with neither ready to
relinquish their grip on the French Open title.
It was Sharapova who made
the decisive break for a 5-3 lead and she coolly served out for the
championship, falling to her knees after sealing the title.
The 27-year-old has been
the one to watch on the clay this season and she will now aim to take
her game to the grass as she tunes up for Wimbledon, a title she won in
2011.
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