French Open 2014 Schedule & Predictions: Sharapova vs Halep - Who Will Win?
- Maricar B. Brizuela
- Jun 06, 2014 06:08 AM EDT
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After rallying to defeat Canadian Eugene Bouchard with a 2-1 victory last Thursday, Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova is out to take on Simona Halep from Romania in the women's singles finals of the 2014 French Open on Saturday.
Sharapova, who is on the seventh position in the women's singles rankings, will go head-to-head in the finals game versus the fourth-ranked Halep who bested her German foe Andrea Petkovic with a 2-0 win, Albawaba Sports reported.
In an interview with USA Today, Halep's coach Wim Fissette said that his player's best chance against Sharapova is to "stay agressive and never let up", which, according to the website, is one of the hardest tactic to impose on the Russian favorite.
Fissette was quoted as saying, "If she (Halep) goes backwards in the court she will have no chance. Maria will kill her."
Sharapova has already proven her dominance against the 22-year-old Romanian when she grabbed a 3-0 victory against the latter at the finals in Madrid last month. But Fissette said that he and Halep are studying their plan to avoid the Madrid loss from happening again in the French Open. He added that the "physically and mentally" drained Halep was able to recover from her previous tough matches.
"I talked to her about conserving energy and it looks to have paid off," Fissette told USA Today.
The coach noted that he also has a few plans under his sleeves for the match and that he is already anticipating for Sharapova's response to Halep's serves which will keep the rallies short all throughout the game.
In an interview with the New York Times, Halep expressed her "fantastic" feel of the whole tournament and added that she had an impressive four months.
Sharapova, on the other hand, told the New York Times that going against a much younger player does not bother her saying "she still has the hunger" for the game.
"I feel I have played a lot of tough matches in this clay season, and I think that's benefited and helped me because I have been pushed in different situations," Sharapova told the New York Times in an interview.
The Times also reported that the Russian tennis star is unbeaten in her last 19 three-set matches including the last seven at the French Open.
But what tennis fans and spectators are waiting for is what magic Halep can pull out during the finals game versus the Russian tennis star.
Who do you think will win the French Open 2014? Let us know in the comments below!
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