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Sharapova stuns Amelie, reaches US Open final
Sharapova reached her 1st U.S. Open final when she beat top seed Mauresmo of France 6-0 4-6 6-0 on Friday.
Russian Maria Sharapova reached her first US Open final when she beat world number one and top seed Amelie Mauresmo of France 6-0 4-6 6-0 on Friday.
The former Wimbledon champion took advantage of an error-strewn performance from Mauresmo to set up a final against second-seeded Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne.
"I'm not done yet," Sharapova said after the match.
"(At the end of the second set) I went to change, I just thought, it's all right, it's one set all, you haven't lost the match yet, and I just kept going.
"I am thrilled to be in the final. I had a horrible record against Amelie and that ended today, and I have a horrible record against Justine, so I hope that's a good omen."
After racing through the first set in 24 minutes for the loss of only 10 points, Sharapova suddenly found herself in a dogfight when Mauresmo, varying her game well, hit back to take the second set thanks to one break.
But just as quickly, the Frenchwoman's form deserted her and Sharapova tore through the third set, conceding just seven points as she moved into the final.
Mauresmo, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year for her first grand slam titles, had no excuses after her defeat.
"I was maybe a little tired but there was nothing specific," said the Frenchwoman, who had won all three of her previous meetings with Sharapova.
"I think the difference today was that she made fewer unforced errors, I made the errors."
"I didn't feel very (good) throughout the match, maybe not thinking so good, not lucid."
"All credit to her. She played a good match. I didn't play the way I wanted today. Even when I won the second set, I didn't really feel like things were going the way I wanted them to."
