Simona Halep seeking Madrid revenge over Maria Sharapova in final

Maria Sharapova

Paris: Simona Halep hopes her desire for revenge against Maria Sharapova can help carry her to a maiden grand slam title at the French Open yesterday.

Simona Halep. Pic/Getty Images.

Sharapova is the title favourite but Halep has undoubtedly played the better tennis at Roland Garros and is yet to drop a set. The Romanian had only previously made one grand slam quarter-final, but on the back of a stellar 12 months she will reach number three in the rankings on Monday.

Sharapova in top flight during her French Open semi-final tie against Eugenie Bouchard on Thursday

Halep has won seven titles in that time, more than anyone except Serena Williams, and she came close to adding an eighth in Madrid last month.

The player who stopped her was Sharapova, the Russian winning in three sets after Halep had taken the first 6-1. Halep is giving away eight inches in height to her opponent and a significant amount of power.

"I have to take that revenge," said Halep. "I will fight for this one. I played a really good match in Madrid first set. I started really well. I was very fast on court, and I opened the angles very well."

Live today: Women's singles final on Neo Sports and Neo Prime, 18:30