PARIS -- Nothing came easily for Maria Sharapova in the French Open final. Nike China Jerseys . Serves hit by her surgically repaired shoulder often missed the mark, resulting in 12 double-faults. Shots that would be winners against most opponents were retrieved by Simona Halep and sent right back. Leads that usually hold up vanished in a blink. On a muggy afternoon, with the temperature in the high 70s (20s Celsius), points were lung-searing struggles. Sharapova was up to the task. In an entertaining and undulating championship match -- the first womens final at Roland Garros in 13 years to go three sets -- Sharapova showed that shes as tough as they come, particularly on the red clay that used to flummox her. She edged Halep 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4 Saturday to win a second French Open title in three years. "This is the toughest Grand Slam final Ive ever played," Sharapova said. It is her fifth major trophy in all. Remarkably, Sharapova owns twice as many from Paris as the one each she won at Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006, and the Australian Open in 2008. "If somebody had told me ... at some stage in my career, that Id have more Roland Garros titles than any other Grand Slam, Id probably go get drunk," Sharapova said with a chuckle. "Or tell them to get drunk. One or the other." The 3-hour, 2-minute tangle featured too many momentum swings to count, filled with lengthy baseline exchanges, and terrific defence and shotmaking by both women. Not bad for someone who once famously described herself as feeling like a "cow on ice" when it came to playing on clay, a slow, demanding surface that requires excellent footwork. Now Sharapova knows how to move on clay, and can stretch points when needed. Since the start of 2012, Sharapova is 54-4 with seven titles on clay. Shes also won 20 consecutive clay three-setters, including four in a row this week. "It says that shes very fit. It says that shes very determined," said Sven Groenefeld, Sharapovas coach. "And it says that she never gives up." Sharapova broke into a huge smile while hoisting the trophy overhead, then shaking it with both hands and scanning a stadium that, improbably, has become hers. This was her third final in a row in Paris: She won the 2012 title to complete a career Grand Slam, then lost last year to Serena Williams, who bowed out in the second round this time. Sharapova is 20-1 the last three years at Roland Garros -- which is nothing compared to Rafael Nadals 65-1 career French Open mark heading into Sundays final Sunday against Novak Djokovic, but certainly quite impressive. "Youre not just born being a natural clay-court player. OK, maybe if youre Nadal. But certainly not me," Sharapova said. "I didnt grow up on it; didnt play on it. I just took it upon myself to make myself better on it." Plus, Sharapova had an operation on her right shoulder, the one she uses to swing her racket, in October 2008. That joint troubled the Russian again in 2013, when she played one match from July to December. She now travels with a physiotherapist, Jerome Bianchi, and told him during the post-match ceremony, "Thank you for keeping me healthy." This was the ninth Grand Slam final for the No. 7-seeded Sharapova, and the first for Halep, a 22-year-old Romanian seeded fourth. Supported by a dozen folks in her guest box wearing red T-shirts saying "Allez Simona," and fans that chanted her first name, Halep acquitted herself well, showing off the scrambling baseline style that carried her to six straight-set wins until Saturday. "I will not forget this match," said Halep, who wiped away tears afterward. Each time it appeared Sharapova was ready to pull away, she was forced to do extra work. At 4-3 in the second set, Sharapova held two break points, but Halep saved both with gutsy groundstrokes. In the tiebreaker, Sharapova got within two points of victory at 5-3, but Halep took the next four to claim the set. Thats when Sharapova left for the locker room, taking an 8-minute break during which she changed out of her sweat-soaked outfit -- and let Halep stew for a bit. Sharapova went ahead 4-2, but Halep broke back to 4-all. It turned out that was her last stand, though. Sharapova wouldnt lose another point, gritting her teeth and shaking her fists after breaking at love for 5-4 with a backhand winner, then holding at love by forcing a backhand error from Halep on match point. When it ended, Sharapova dropped to her knees, caking her shins with clay, and folded her body forward, burying her face in her hands. "I had good tactics today. I opened the angles. Also, I was hitting the ball strong," Halep said. But Sharapova, Halep continued, "was moving really well." Cow on ice? More like Queen of Clay. Stitched China Jerseys . The Redblacks host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-9) Friday night in their last home game of the year and as of Thursday afternoon, the team was anticipating a ninth consecutive sellout. You can watch all the action on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, and TSN5 beginning at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. China Jerseys Cheap . Since coming to the big leagues in late May, La Stella is 6 for 7 with the bases loaded, driving in 13 runs in those at-bats.(SportsNetwork.com) - While the Nashville Predators have yet to lose consecutive games this season, theyve yet to put together a sizeable winning streak this month. The Preds look to make it two wins in a row on Saturday night as they visit the Minnesota Wild to begin a three-game trip. Nashville has gone 4-3-0 this month after capping November on a four-game winning streak. The Preds capped a three-game swing with a 2-0 loss at San Jose last Saturday, but responded yet again with a win, topping the Boston Bruins 3-2 in a shootout at home on Tuesday. Pekka Rinne made 33 saves through overtime and was perfect in the shootout, while Derek Roy had the lone tally of the tiebreaker. Mike Fisher and Mike Ribeiro had goals in regulation. We have been talking about it all year, how we are just trying to bounce back as quickly as we can, said Preds forward Filip Forsberg. Even though we might win a game but we do not play great we want to come back with a better effort the next time we play. I think we played way better tonight than we did in San Jose, so it felt good to win for sure. Defenseman Anton Volchenkov wasnt feeling at his best after the win, having suffered a lower-body injury that has him day-to-day. Nashville also placed forward Paul Gaustad on injured reserve Friday due to a lower-body injury that has held him out of the past three games. In response, the Preds recalled forward Viktor Stalberg from the American Hockey League. Rinne figures to start for Nashville tonight and is 9-4-2 in his career against the Wild with a 2.01 goals against average, .926 save percentage and three shutouts in 16 games (14 starts). The Wild, meanwhile, have lost back-to-back gamees for the first time since a four-game slide from Nov. China Jerseys Wholesale. 4-11 and failed to do what the Preds did recently: beat the Bruins in extra time. Loui Eriksson had a goal for Boston 1:30 into overtime on Wednesday to hand Minnesota a 3-2 setback. Zdeno Chara flung the puck around the boards off a faceoff win, Carl Soderberg tracked it down and Eriksson deposited a cross-crease pass into a wide-open net for the deciding marker. Kyle Brodziak and Jason Pominville both supplied offense for the Wild, while Niklas Backstrom stopped 22 pucks in defeat. Pominvilles tally with 8:21 to go in the third period tied the game and came as Ryan Suters shot off his own rebound hit off Pominvilles skate and in. Both Pominville and Suter were playing in their 700th career game. Just have to shake my head again. Their goalie was standing up and had no idea what was going on. Neither really did many of us, said Pominville, who has nine points in his last 11 games. Minnesota lost the opener of a four-game homestand as Backstrom made starts on back-to-back nights with Darcy Kuemper unable to go because of a stomach virus. The Wild hope Kuemper can return to action tonight given his success against the Predators. He has won both of his career starts against them -- one a shutout -- while giving up just two goals on 41 shots. Minnesota forward Matt Cooke also is close to returning from a hip flexor issue that has sidelined him since Oct. 28. Tonight is the first of five meetings this season between the Wild and Predators. The Wild have won five of the past seven, though the Preds snapped a three-game slide in Minnesota with a 7-3 win on April 13 of last season. ' ' '