Maria Sharapova, Sara Errani To Face Off In French Open Final

Maria Sharapova reclaimed the No. 1 tennis ranking on Thursday after defeating fourth-seeded Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-3, allowing her to advance into the French Open finals. Should Sharapova win her next match she will claim her first personal Grand Slam title.

Sharapova has previously won at Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008.

Last year during the Australian Open final Maria Sharapova lost to Victoria Azarenka, a victory that gave Azarenka the No. 1 ranking.

Sharapova will take on Sara Errani in the finals. Errani upset Samantha Stosur in a match that ended with a final score of 7-5, 1-6, 6-3. During that match Stosur committed 48 unforced errors, 27 more than her competitor. The win was the first for Sara Errani in six matches against Stosur.

Interesting fact; Errani is the first woman to reach both the single and doubles French Open finals since Kim Clijsters in 2003. If Errani can win single and doubles titles she’ll be the first woman to do so since Mary Pierce in 2000.

What might be most impressive was the poise Errani showed during her game, her serves often fell below 80 mph and she completed no aces during the match compared to 11 for Stosur. Tennis critics have said time and time again that power players win Grand Slam tournaments, a fact Errani now has the chance to disprove.

During the 2012 French Open Errani has defeated several popular players including No. 10 ranked Angelique Kerber and No. 6 ranked Stosur, she also defeated past French open champions Ana Ivanovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova. When the new top 10 rankings are announced Sara Errani will be included in that list.