Maria Sharapova Wins French Open, Captures Career Grand Slam
Maria Sharapova easily defeated Sara Errani 6-3, 6-2 to win her first French Open in Paris on Saturday. With the victory, Sharapova completed a career Grand Slam and became just the 10th woman to win all four major tennis tournaments (Wimbledon and the Australian, French and U.S. opens).
It took just 89 minutes for Sharapova, 25, to dispatch Errani. The tall, blonde Russian dominated with power strokes that broke Errani’s service five times. Sharapova hit 37 winners in the match.
The victory was Sharapova’s first in a Grand Slam tournament since she left the game for 10 months in 2009 to mend a shoulder injury. It was her third Grand Slam final in the past 11 months. Errani, 25, had never played in a Grand Slam final. She defeated reigning U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur in the semifinals to advance to Saturday’s final at Roland Garros.
The win allowed Sharapova to join Maureen Connolly Brinker, Doris Hart, Shirley Fry Irvin, Margaret Court, Billie Jean King, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Serena Williams as winners of the career Grand Slam. She is expected to once again be the world’s No. 1 ranked women’s tennis player when rankings are published on Monday.