Sharapova downs Errani to claim Roland Garros crown
Maria Sharapova of Russia raises the trophy as she poses during the ceremony after defeating Sara Errani of Italy during their women’s singles final match at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris June 9, 2012. – Reuters picPARIS, June 9 – Maria Sharapova kept her poise to outwit and outpower diminutive Italian Sara Errani and win her first French Open with a 6-3 6-2 victory today.
Despite the one-sided scoreline, Italian Errani troubled Sharapova with some cute volleys, sliced forehands, daring dropshots but still found the Russian to be an insurmountable obstacle.
With Errani standing at just 1.64 metres, the statuesque Russian used her 24-cm advantage and wider wingspan to great effect as she chased down everything the Italian could throw at her.
She wrapped up victory when Errani ended a prolonged rally by dumping a backhand into the net, allowing Sharapova to become the 10th woman to complete a career grand slam after she added the Paris title to her triumphs at Wimbledon (2004), the US Open (2006) and the Australian Open (2008). – Reuters
