Sharapova Tames Young Bouchard to Move Into French Open Finals
Maria Sharapova moved one step closer to winning her second French Open title in three years on Thursday, beating 18th seeded Canadian Eugenie Bouchard 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in a match that lasted nearly two and a half hours.
Much like her quarterfinal match with Garbine Muguruza on Tuesday, the Russian had to use a strong comeback in order to prevail. After dropping the first set 4-6 to the 20-year old Bouchard, Sharapova rebounded nicely and was able to capture the final two sets to move into the title match at Roland Garros.
“She played an unbelievable match today,” praised Sharapova. “Her level was extremely high and I was fortunate to win because she played tremendous tennis. Obviously, I would prefer to win in two sets. It was tough losing that first set, but that’s not when the match ends and that’s why you put in the hard work—to get through those moments.”
That hard work did pay off, as Sharapova seemed to be more fresh and composed once on the court as the match went on.
The third set belonged to Sharapova as she quickly jumped out to a 3-1 lead. In a crucial fifth game, Bouchard had an opportunity to break serve and climb her way back into the match. After a long rally, Bouchard sailed a return wide of the baseline which put her down 1-4 and allowed the experienced Sharapova to put a vice grip on the contest.
Bouchard is one of the rising stars in the WTA, but was unable to put together a complete match on Thursday. Her accuracy and sharpness seemed to fade away in the third set as the seventh-seeded Sharapova cruised in the third set to secure her place in the finals. The Canadian hit a number of returns wide or long, unable to capitalize on a good amount of break point opportunities in the third set.
She double-faulted in the final game which put Sharapova up 40-15, and after a long deuce the Russian hit a forehand that Bouchard could not handle, clinching the match and a spot in the finals for Sharapova.
After winning the title in 2012, Sharapova lost in the final last year to Serena Williams. She has now won 19 straight three-set matches on clay, and will face the winner of fourth-seeded Simona Halep and 28th seeded Andrea Petkovic in Saturday’s final.
