French Open final: Maria Sharapova vs Sara Errani – As it happened…

World No.1 Maria Sharapova won her maiden French Open title as she defeated Italian Sara Errani in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 in the women singles final of French Open 2012.

Suyash Srivastava/Zeenews Sports Bureau

Paris: 4:46 pm What a moment for Maria Sharapova! She reached the No.1 spot in her previous match and now she proves why she deserves the numero uno position! The Russian has outclassed Sara Errani in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 to complete her grand slam. 4:43 pm Sharapova to serve. Errani wins the first point as Sharapova’s return lands wide. 0-15. Sharapova wins another game as Errani tries to be more aggressive, the Italian hits one wide. 15-15. Maria wins another point. 30-15. Errani plays a drop shot once again, Sharapova once again advances in time, hits it straight to Errani to drops it for a winner. 30-30. Sharapova covers a lot of court on her both sides and manages to hit a forehand that stuns Errani. 40-30. Sharapova to serve for match point! Errani saves the match point as Sharapova hits one wide. Deuce. Errani this time deceives Sharapova off a very well judged drop shot, Sharapova was too far back this time! Break point for Errani! Sharapova hits another superb backhand to get back to Deuce. An ace by Sharapova gives her another match-point! Another match-point saved by Errani, it was a carbon copy of the previous drop shot! Deuce once again. Another ace from Sharapova! Another match point for the Russian! And she wins it! Sharapova now has completed her grand slam as she wins her maiden French Open title! 4:32 pm Errani to serve: Sharapova wins three consecutive points. 0-40. Errani wins one point. 15-40. Sharapova seals the game with a backhand. 4:29 pm Sharapova to serve. Sharapova wins the first two points. 0-30. Errani wins the next point. 15-30. Errani wins another point. 30-30. An excellent return from Errani produces a winner! 30-40, break point for the Italian. And Errani has managed to break Sharapova’s serve. 4:24 pm Errani to serve. Sharapova wins the first two points and Errani comes back to equalize it to 30-30. Sharapova hits one Wide and from 0-30 down, Errani now leads 40-30. Sharapova returns Errani’s serve with extreme power which is a winner. Deuce. Sharapova’s return goes wide, advantage for Errani. Errani moves to her right and Sharapova returns with an accurate backhand to win a point. Sharapova gets a breakpoint with a winner. Sharapova’s return goes wide and it’s Deuce again. Errani wins the next game to take the advantage. Another powerful forehand from Sharapova produces a point in her favour. Deuce. Superb hitting from Sharapova, Errani has now answer to her powerful forehand. Break point for Sharapova. Sharapova’s return goes wide and its deuce again! Errani fails to return one of Sharapova’s forehand, Sharapova has another break point! Good drop shot from Errani, but Sharapova is once again quick to advance and this time she seals the game! She now leads 4-1. 4:14 pm Sharapova to serve. Errani takes the first point. 0-15. Sharapova hits an extremely good backhand for a winner. 15-15. Sharapova serves her fourth ace of the match! 30-15. Errani returns one Wide, 40-15. Sharapova hits one onto the nets. 40-30. Sharapova’s return again hits the nets. Deuce, 40-40. Sharapova makes another error and Errani has the advantage and the break point. Sharapova continues to play powerful tennis and wins a point. Deuce. Errani plays a drop shot and Sharapova is quick to advance and hit it for a winner. Errani’s shot hits the nets and Sharapova leads 3-1 in the second set. 4:07 pm Errani to serve. She wins the first two games. 30-0. And Errani comes to the nets to take a 40-0 lead. And she goes on to win the point! 1-2. 4:02 pm Sharapova to serve. She wins the first point, 15-0. Errani comes to the nets, surprises Sharapova and wins a point. 15-15. Sharapova wins a point off a powerful second serve. 30-15. An ace extends her lead to 40-15. After a very good rally, Errani once again came to the net and won a point, good thinking from the Italian. 40-30. Errani is making Sharapova move a lot on the court, the Russian hits one on the nets. DEUCE! 40-40. Sharapova takes the advantage with her third ace of the match! Sharapova has won the second game! 2-0 is her lead now. 3:55 pm Errani to serve. Sharapova has won the first three points and now has three break points. 0-40. Errani hits one wide and Sharapova breaks her opponents’ serve in the very first game! After she was 3-0 down, Errani has shown some improvement, but she needs to be consistent with her aggression else Maria is up for an early finish here! Sharapova leads 6-3. 3:49 pm Sharapova to serve for the set. Sharapova comes to the nets to hit a winner. 15-0. Double fault by Sharapova. 15-15. Sharapova wins one more point. 30-15. Errani wins a point with a clean backhand in a very well played rally. 30-30. Sharapova hits one forehand which is very wide of Errani. 40-30. Set point for Sharapova! And she grabs the first set with a good backhand! 6-3 3:44 pm Errani to serve. She wins the first point. Sara is suddenly playing some aggressive tennis here! Sharapova wins the second point. 15-15. Errani hits one onto the nets. 15-30. Errani hits one wide. 15-40, two break points for Sharapova. Sharapova’s return hits the nets. 30-40. Errani has saved two break points here, a powerful forehand wins her a point. Deuce! Errani is making Maria play some long rallies, the Russian hits one out as Errani takes the advantage, game point for Errani. And she wins it. Sharapova hits one wide. 3-5. 3:38 pm Sharapova to serve. She leads 40-0 after three great points. Sharapova takes 5-2 lead in the opening set. 3:35 pm Errani to serve. And Errani and makes her presence felt. She hold onto her serve. Maria leads 4-2. 3:31 pm Errani wins the first point. Errani shows some aggressive play, comes forward and wins her second point. Double fault by Sharapova! 0-40, three break points for Errani. She wins her first game of the match! 03:27pm Errani to serve Errani won the first point as Sharapova hit one wide and the Russian wins the second with a powerful forehand. Errani tries to advance and smash one backhand, she fails as it crashes to the nets. 15-30. Another brilliant backhand from Sharapova wins her a point. Errani will have to match her pace. 15-40. Sharapova hits one wide. 30-40. Errani is playing some long rallies here, she wins a point. Deuce 40-40. A brilliant return from Sharapova produces a point in her favour. 40-40, break point for Maria. Sharapova wins her fourth consecutive game, leads 4-0. 3:21 pm Sharapova to serve: She wins the first point with a powerful forehand. Another forehand hit to Errani’s right who didn’t read it. Sharapova leads 30-0, an ace increases her lead to 40-0. Another ace and Sharapova leads 3-0 in just eight minutes! 3:15 pm Both the players won one game each before Errani did a fault and Sharapova took 30-15 lead. Another superb backhand from the Russian extended her lead to 40-15. Break point for Sharapova. A forehand from Sharapova hits the nets. 40-30. She still has a break point and she wins it to win the game as well. Sharapova leads 2-0. 3:14 pm Sharapova to serve. The Russian won the first two points and took a lead of 30-0. Errani won the next game after which Sharapova won two more points to win the first game. 3:11 pm The players are on the field and the game shall begin anytime now. Maria Sharapova reached the World No. 1 spot after defeating Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-3 in semifinal of French Open 2012. Sharapova had outclassed Petra Kvitova to return to the No. 1 ranking for the first time since a shoulder problem threatened her career four years ago. The Russian will now be eyeing a victory against Sara Errani which will be her maiden French Open title and she will also complete a career grand slam. Meanwhile Errani will be equally delighted after back-to-back wins against No. 10 Angelique Kerber and No. 6 Stosur, along with victories over past French Open champions Ana Ivanovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova. When the list of the new rankings is released on Monday, the Italian will be among the top 10 for the first time in her career. Note: The timings are per the Paris time. The IST is three and a half hours ahead of the local time.