Sharapova win away from Grand Slam
After regaining No. 1 ranking, Russian to face 21st seed Errani of Italy in final
PARIS — Wind blew in her face, kicking up flecks of clay, and Maria Sharapova stood at the baseline, knowing she needed one more point to reach her first French Open final and return to No. 1 in the rankings.
She rotated her right shoulder, the one surgically repaired 3 ½ years ago, and served a fault. Gulp. Her next try found the mark: a second- serve ace at 162 km/ h that landed in a corner. It was a fitting way to close out a 6- 3, 6- 3 victory over No. 4- seeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the semifinals at Roland Garros on Thursday, a fitting way to announce that Sharapova is once again at the height of her powers and at the top of her sport.
“It’s a long road back; it’s a long process. It’s a lot of days of frustration and uncertainty, not knowing if you’ll ever get there, not knowing how much you want it, not knowing whether ( there) would be a moment like that for you again,” Sharapova said at her news conference, the WTA’s glass vase signifying her No. 1 status sitting inches away.
“So there’s definitely a lot of tough things you have to go through to get to this point. But when you get here, and you look back at the things that you did, and the work that you put in, and the toughest days that you can remember, it’s all really worth it.”
On Saturday, the secondseeded Russian will face 21stseeded Sara Errani of Italy for the French Open title. It’s the only major tournament Sharapova hasn’t won; she can become the 10th woman to complete a career Grand Slam.
“I was in a position a few years ago where I didn’t quite know if I would ever be here again on this stage, playing professionally. And not just at that, but at a level to get to No. 1 in the world and a first Roland
Garros final for me,” Sharapova said. “So a very special day, no doubt.” Errani felt the same way. Playing in her first Grand Slam semifinal, she beat reigning U. S. Open champion Sam Stosur of Australia 7- 5, 1- 6, 6- 3.
“Players like Sharapova, Serena Williams — they’re accustomed to making it this far,” said Errani’s coach, Pablo Lozano, who held his 10- month- old son while cheering in the stands.
“For us, every day brings a new surprise.”
Indeed, it’s been quite a two weeks for Errani, who will play in the women’s doubles final on today with Roberta Vinci against Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova.
Entering this tournament,
Errani was 0- 28 against women ranked in the top 10. But she beat No. 10 Angelique Kerber in the quarter- finals, then No. 6 Stosur on Thursday — and those upsets were preceded by victories over two past French Open champions, 2008’ s Ana Ivanovic and 2009’ s Svetlana Kuznetsova.
The start of her semifinal was delayed by rain for more than an hour, so Errani listened to some music and took a nap on a couch to relax. She came out a bit edgy, losing the first two games, but quickly turned that around, even though plenty of her serves came in at about 110 km/ h. Unable to overwhelm foes, she beats them with tactics, finding all the right angles.
“She uses what she’s got. She gets the most out of herself, I guess,” said Stosur, whose 48
unforced errors were more than twice as many as Errani’s total. “Without being able to hit too many winners, she does what she does very well.”
Hitting winners is not a problem for Sharapova. On a wet and blustery day, she managed 15 — five more than Kvitova.
But it wasn’t easy for Sharapova to make her way back after having her shoulder fixed in October 2008.
Aside from the hours of rehab, she was forced to adjust her service motion, a work- inprogress that still leads to doubledigit double- fault totals.
“The day that I got shoulder surgery, I knew ( serving) was something I’m going to be working on and trying to get back for a very long period of time,” she said. “I mean, it was the most painful shot for me
before I had to get surgery, and I knew that it could have still been painful after. It certainly was for a period of time.”
In the men’s semifinals today, No. 1 Novak Djokovic faces No. 3 Roger Federer, and No. 2 Rafael Nadal plays No. 6 David Ferrer. Djokovic is attempting to become the first man in 43 years to win four consecutive Grand Slam titles; Nadal is bidding for a record seventh French Open title.
PELIWO INTO SEMIS: North Vancouver teenager Filip Peliwo has advanced to his second consecutive junior Grand Slam semifinal by defeating Noah Rubin of the U. S. 6- 4, 6- 1 Thursday in the quarter- finals of the French Open in Paris.
Peliwo, 18, was a finalist at the Australian Open in January.
The No. 5 seed at the French, Peliwo will face No. 11 Adam Pavlasek of the Czech Republic in the semis after Pavlasek took out Luke Saville, the world’s top- ranked junior, in their quarter- final 6- 3, 6- 3. Saville beat Peliwo in Melbourne in the Aussie Open final.
Peliwo is trying to become the first Canadian to win a junior Grand Slam title. NESTOR ADVANCES: Canadian Daniel Nestor and partner Max Mirnyi of Belarus reached a third- straight French Open final Thursday with a 6- 3, 6- 4 win over Italians Daniele Bracciali and Potito Starace.
Nestor and Mirnyi won the trophy last year, and the 39- yearold from Toronto claimed it in 2010 with former partner Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia.
Nestor and Mirnyi will face off in the Saturday final against the winner from a semi between secondseed brothers Bob and Mike Bryan of the U. S., who beat Pakistani Aisam- Ul- Haq Qureshi and Jean- Julien Rojer of the Netherlands 6- 3, 7- 6 ( 7- 5).