Maria Sharapova has reached her third French Open final in a row after coming from a set down to beat Eugenie Bouchard 4-6 7-5 6-2 in Paris.
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Twenty-year-old Bouchard drew first blood in the opening set as she comfortably broke Sharapova's serve and then immediately held to take a 3-1 lead.
Sharapova came close to bouncing back, but Bouchard was able to save two break points in order to hold and keep her lead on the clay court.
The former world number one eventually secured a break of her own to take the set to 4-4, but Bouchard instantly broke back to give herself the edge and a one-set lead.
After suffering the blow, Sharapova regained composure to break her opponent at the first time of asking in the second set, but once again, Bouchard broke back to keep proceedings equal.
However, Sharapova was able to swing the momentum back in her favour by securing another break point to take a comfortable lead in the second set.
The Russian needed to serve for the set, but after a battling game which was brought back to deuce four times, Bouchard was able to break and launch a fightback.
The Canadian's attempts didn't last long, though, as Sharapova eventually grabbed another vital break point to win the set and level the scoreline in Paris.
Games went by the way of serve in the early stages of the third and final set until Sharapova came out on top in a tight game, which produced two break points for the Russian.
After taking a 3-1 lead, Sharapova continued her dominance on the court and was able to clinch another break to push on and win the match.
Danielle Joynson
