Sharapova and Williams Advance to Final

The 2013 French Open will see Maria Sharapova defends the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen against Serena Williams on Saturday.

Williams, not only the best player in the world now and for most of the past decade but among the greatest of all time, is, at 31, in the sort of form that would intimidate a tank, while Sharapova has committed herself to all-out war.

Sharapova concedes nothing to her American rival in willpower, and that is as good a mix as any fan of the women's game could wish for, because, with the exception of Azarenka, there probably was no one else here the past fortnight equipped to give Williams a decent fight.