French Open 2014 Schedule & Matches For Saturday: Maria Sharapova Faces Simona Halep In Final; Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic Square Off
Maria Sharapova will look to win his second French Open title on Saturday, while Simona Halep will go for his first Grand Slam title when they collide in the 2014 Roland Garros women's singles final.
The seventh-seeded Sharapova had to dig deep in her bag of tricks as she scored another come-from-behind victory over Eugenie Bouchard of Canada 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the women's semifinals on Thursday.
Halep, who has never advanced to the semifinals of a major event before this year's French Open, had an easier route to the final, cruising to a straight-set win against Andrea Petkovic of Germany 6-2, 7-6 (4) in their semis match.
Sharapova, who is looking to win her fifth Grand Slam title, will be a heavy favorite heading into Saturday's title match as she is 3-0 against the 22-year-old Romanian, which includes a three-set victory at the Madrid Open last month.
Halep, who became the first Romanian woman to reach a Grand Slam final in 34 years, is confident about her chances as she is playing very well over the past several months, but she admitted that Sharapova will be a tough nut to crack in their upcoming showdown.
"I have a lot of confidence in myself now," Halep said. "I played really well here; a few good matches. But next round will be very tough. I know Maria. She's a great champion."
The Sharapova-Halep match will start at 9 a.m. EST, Wednesday, at the Court Philippe Chatrier and will be shown live on ESPN2 and Tennis Channel. Live stream will also be available via WatchESPN and NBC Sports Live Extra.
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic advanced to the men's final after defeating their respective semifinal opponents on Friday.
The top-seeded Nadal cruised to a straight-set victory over Andy Murray 6-3, 6-2, 6-1, while Djokovic needed four sets to dispatch surprising semifinalist Ernests Gulbis 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Nadal, who holds an impressive 65-1 record at Roland Garros, is now a win away from winning his fifth straight, and ninth overall French Open title, but Djokovic vows to play aggressive in hopes of stopping the Spaniard on his tracks on Sunday.
"I'm going to try to be aggressive because that is the only way I can win against him," Djokovic via ESPN. "I know that, of course, this is the court he's most dominant on. He has only lost one time in his career. This is where he plays his best."
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