Tennis star Maria Sharapova is back on top. The veteran women's champ finished a long road from shoulder surgery nearly four years ago to compete in the final of the French Open on Saturday. A win would give Sharapova a career Grand Slam.
The French Open is the only Grand Slam tournament that the second seeded Sharapova has never won. She faced Sara Errani, a surprise victor over Svetlana Kuznetsova and US Open Champion Sam Stosur in the women's draw.
Errani grabbed a share of a French Open trophy by winning the women's doubles title with Roberta Vinci. But she was overwhelmed in the singles...Sharapova used precise angles and powerful pace to two service breaks and take a commanding 4-0 first set lead. The 21st seeded Italian battled back with some strategic drop shots and volleys. But Sharapova quickly responded with a series of solid shots. She won the first set 6-3.
Errani picked up her pace as the second set started, but Sharapova answered with a bigger serve and tougher groundstrokes. The Russian closed out the match on the third match point.
Sharapova completed a four-year journey back to the top of the women's world rankings, and achieved a career Grand Slam on the way. She's won the Australian Open, the US Open, Wimbledon and now the French, and ranks as only the 10th woman to ever win all four major tennis tournaments. Sharapova will be back at world number one on Monday, for the first time since June 2008.