Category — French Open

It took a while, but Maria Sharapova completed her run of a Grand Slam by capturing the French Open today.
SB Nation

Rafael Nadal tied Bjorn Borg with his 6th French Open title Sunday, beating Roger Federer, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-1.
N.Y. Times

Li Na became the 1st player from China to win a Grand Slam singles title, dropping defending French Open champ Francesca Schiavone, 6-4, 7-6 (0), today in the final in Paris.
N.Y. Times

As you know, Roger Federer ended Novak Djokovic’s 43-match winning streak Friday in a 4-set thriller. Now Federer clashes with his friend Rafael Nadal Sunday for the title of the French Open. The betting money seems to be on Nadal, who has won 5 French Open crowns.

Li Na advanced to the final of the French Open for the first time today, when she knocked off Maria Sharapova, 6-4, 7-5. She will meet defending champ Francesca Schiavone, who defeated Marion Bartoli, 6-3, 6-3, in the other semifinal, for the championship on Saturday.
N.Y. Times

Novak Djokovic extended his awesome streak to 42 in a row today by downing Juan Martín Del Potro, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, at the French Open.
N.Y. Times

Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, who hasn’t won anything of note, gets smoked by Daniela Hantuchova, 6-1, 6-3, in the 3rd round of the French Open.

Kim Clijsters suffers a second-round loss in the French Open to Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.
N.Y. Times

Tennis experts who picked Rafael Nadal were squirming today, when the world’s No. 1 player was forced to go 5 sets before prevailing over John Isner, who is best known for his marathon win over Nicolas Mahut last year.
Daily Mail

Tennis legend Rod Laver, who lives in Carlsbad, indulged me in a 15-minute phoner today. Of course we discussed the play of Novak Djokovic, who hasn’t lost a match this season. Laver had nothing but praise for Djokovic and believes he could capture the French Open, which begins Sunday in Paris.
“Djokovic is quite uncanny,” Laver said. “He’s improved so much from last year to this year. It’s phenomenal. He’s played well on the hard courts, but he’s playing outstanding on clay, too. It’s just uncanny how well he’s improved. He’s just a very confident individual right now. If he and (Rafael) Nadal meet in the French, that will be an interesting match to see.”
Laver says he sees a different Djokovic than before.
“His swing has improved, his backhand has improved and so has his serve,” said the 72-year-old Laver. “He used to have a good serve, but then he lost it. But now he’s found it and he’s very fluid with his shots and hitting them with such power. All of his shots are perfect. I could see him winning the French.”