Maria Sharapova recalls her three-set win over Simona Halep in last year’s Roland Garros final, which she calls one of the most difficult matches of her career. The five-time Grand Slam champion was tied 4-4 with Halep in the third set before going on to win the title.
“I think those two weeks came to an end after a very tough and physical final,” Sharapova said. “As I said, one of the toughest finals that I’ve ever been a part of and to have that in a Grand Slam environment was extremely special, very tough in the moment. Simona made it very tough for me to win that title but I really felt like I, from the very beginning of the match, I knew that I would have to work for it and I did. I think that makes it extra special.”
The 28-year-old has reached the Rome final, where she’ll play Carla Suarez Navarro. Sharapova said that because of an injury she suffered in Miami in late March, she was unable to practice before the clay-court season. She lost to Angelique Kerber in the first round in Stuttgart, but reached the semifinals in Madrid before losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova.
“I think it was the start really for me of my clay-court season [in Madrid],” Sharapova said. “My preparations started a little bit later this year than the previous one. I really just have to take my time and just get into a good groove, it's been a while since I played that many matches within a span of six days, so it was good to feel the physicality of it all again. Came up short against Svetlana but she played a great match and obviously looking to this week as this will be the final preparation for the French Open.”