Roland Garros: Sharapova to face Halep in women's final

Roland Garros: Sharapova to face Halep in women's final
Maria Sharapova needed all her abilities and mental power to beat Eugenie Bouchard and reach a third consecutive French Open final. The Russian player won 4-6 7-5 6-2 against the 20-year-old Canadian in two hours and 27 minutes. She will face Romanian fourth seed Simona Halep in Saturday's final. The Romanian beat Germany's Andrea Petkovic 6-2 7-6 (7-4) to reach her first ever Grand Slam final. Sharapova had to recover from a set down for the third match in a row. "I don't feel that I played my best tennis today," she said. "I felt my opponent played extremely well, exceptional tennis, and I didn't feel that I was playing my best. I fought, I scrambled, and I found a way to win. I'm happy and proud about that." "I'm always disappointed with a loss," said Bouchard. "I expect a lot from myself. I felt like I was close today and just came up a bit short." Halep continued her impressive progress in the second semi-final to reach her first major final without dropping a set in the tournament. The 22-year-old has won seven WTA titles since last year's Roland Garros, when she lost in the first round. Then she was the world number 57, next week she will be the world number 3. "It's incredible to be in the final here in Paris," Halep said. "I think I was a little bit stronger in the end, I tried everything to win this match. I have a lot of confidence in myself now, I played really good here, but the next round with Maria will be really tough. She's a great champion." Here are the odds at Bet365 for Saturday's final: Maria Sharapova win - 8/15 Simona Halep win - 6/4
General Sportsbook News Sports Events Back to articles