Maria Sharapova wasn't at all gracious to the woman who very well may have handed her the French Open crown.
Maria Sharapova won't intimidate Eugenie Bouchard
Sharapova again overcame some early struggles to rally past Garbine Muguruza 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 to reach the semifinals in Roland Garros. It's the third consecutive year that the seventh-ranked Sharapova has reached the semis in Paris.
Muguruza, the 20-year-old Venezuelan-born Spaniard ranked 35th in the world, was the player that took out No. 1 Serena Williams in the second round, a 6-2, 6-2 thrashing that was the worst Grand Slam defeat of Williams' career.
Muguruza appeared ready to do the same to Sharapova, breaking the Russian three times on her serve in the opening set.
Serena Williams' upset loss leaves Maria Sharapova as the French Open favorite
Sharapova, however, steadied the ship in the second set but still had to save her serve at 4-5 in the second set to extend the match. When she did, Muguruza started showing cracks in her game.
"A lot of the games in the first set she was always up 30‑Love, 40‑Love, and then I'd win a point or two," Sharapova said, as Tennis.SI.com reported. "Then she's the one with the confidence. You never are giving her a chance to think. In the second set, when you're making her hit a second ball after her serve or when you're being a bit more aggressive on the second serves, taking a bit more chances, all of a sudden she's not hitting so freely."
Sharapova took control of the match for good in the third set, serving at 2-1, according to Tennis.SI.com. She save five break points on her serve, and Muguruza's forehand "broke down under pressure and began to leak errors."
"It's tough now because I had the opportunity to win the match said," Muguruza said, according to Tennis.SI.com. "But I need more experience in these kind of matches. I think I played very good in three sets, but in the important moments I need to improve my mentality."
But as New York Times writer Ben Rothenberg tweeted:
Sharapova owes Muguruza the world's best fruit basket for taking out Serena for her. No woman has ever beaten Serena+Maria at a Slam. #RG14
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) June 3, 2014
Sharapova now turns her mentality to semifinal foe and 20-year-old Eugenie Bouchard, whose nickname is the "next Sharapova" in the semifinals on Thursday.
"The younger generation is ambitious," Sharapova said. "That's why they are in these stages of the tournament."
Do you think Maria Sharapova can win another Grand Slam tournament if she doesn't win this year's French Open? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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