It is Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep in the 2014 Roland Garros French Open Finals. Sharapova defeated Eugenie Bouchard to reach her third consecutive French Open Final while Halep defeated Andrea Petkovic to reach her first major final.
Sharapova’s trip to the final was not easy, but won 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. In the first set, Bouchard forced Sharapova to play the corners and broke her on the way to a win. But Sharapova fought back and took control of the second set until her mistakes almost gave it away. In the ninth game, Sharapova double faulted on two of three set points, but Bouchard’s unforced errors allowed Sharapova to go through.
“I don’t feel that I played my best tennis today,” Sharapova said after the match. “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.”
Halep enjoyed a slightly easier battle in her semifinal against Petkovic. She won the first set 6-2, but, like Bouchard, Petkovic did not want to go down without a fight. She led the second set 3-1 before she lost her serve and did not break Halep again. She almost forced a third set, but Halep easily won the tiebreak 7-4.
Halep is thrilled to be in the final.
“It’s incredible to be in the final here in Paris,” she exclaimed. “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.”
On Friday, the men’s singles semifinals will take place. Ernests Gulbis plays against Novak Djokovic in the first match and then defending champion Rafael Nadal will face Andy Murray.
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