The Russian 2012 champion could do nothing but scream in delight as she finally felled the tenacious Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in an epic two hour 27min semi-final contest.

The 20-year-old has been fearless so far in Paris and showed once again why she is one of the top up-and-coming talents in the women's game, despite falling at the last to Sharapova.

An early break for 2-1 gave the Canadian the much needed momentum in the first set and, despite Sharapova levelling for 4-4, the youngster hit straight back to take the set 6-4.

There is nothing more difficult than seeing out a match in tennis, especially one with this much riding on it, and such proved the case on the clay courts of Roland Garros as the experienced Russian clinched the second set 7-5 after a series of breaks from each camp.

Tiredness crept into the Canadians play from there, and, although showing signs of sheer brilliance throughout, she could not deal with the onslaught from Sharapova as the Russian closed out the match 6-2 to secure her spot in a third straight French Open final.

"I don't feel that I played my best tennis today," said Sharapova.

"I felt my opponent played extremely well, exceptional tennis, and I didn't feel that I was playing my best.

"I fought, I scrambled, and I found a way to win.

"I'm happy and proud about that."

Simona Halep continued her fine French Open form to book a spot in her first ever Grand Slam final ©Getty Images



It was a smoother path to the final for the highest ranked player in the tournament Halep, however, as the Romanian held her nerve to defeat Germany's Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 7-6 in just 84 minutes.

While the other seeds cracked and fell around her, Halep quietly made her way through the draw, dropping just 22 games en route to the semis.

In fact the tie-breaker second set was a first of the tournament for Halep as she strode through the competition unfathomed.

After a dominant display in the first set, which was over in a mere 30 minutes, the fourth seed had to battle back from a break down in the second as Petkovic began to show more fight.

Halep's calm determination and court savvy shone through, however as she recovered from a number of unforced errors to take the tie-breaker 6-4 to move to her first Grand Slam final.

"It's incredible to be in the final here in Paris," said Halep.

"I think I was a little bit stronger in the end, I tried everything to win this match.

"I have a lot of confidence in myself now, I played really good here, but the next round with Maria will be really tough.

"She's a great champion."

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