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PARIS -- Canadas Eugenie Bouchard played like someone who belonged in the final four of a Grand Slam on Thursday. She gave Maria Sharapova a stiff challenge at the French Open before the Russian veteran pulled away late for a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory, derailing Bouchards attempt to become the first Canadian to reach a major singles final in the Open era. As painful as the defeat was for the 20-year-old from Westmount, Que., it will go down as another valuable learning experience on the heels of her first Grand Slam semifinal appearance at this years Australian Open. A look of dejection was etched on her face as she left the court after the nearly 2 1/2-hour long match. It was clear Bouchard wasnt just happy to be on the big stage. She wanted the victory and was crushed when it didnt happen. "She was actually very, very disappointed," Canadian Fed Cup team captain Sylvain Bruneau said on a conference call. "She was not speaking much and I think it shows how much she believes in herself. Sometimes those tough losses are painful but sometimes theyre good. "Sometimes you learn from it and they hurt a little bit and the next time youre in this position, you do a couple things differently and the outcome is different." Sharapova, the No. 7 seed, lost the first set for the third straight match, but again managed to turn things around. "It was a tough battle, it was what I expected," said Bouchard. "I didnt play as well as I had earlier in the tournament. Its always disappointing to be a bit off. I needed to be aggressive and go for my shots." Sharapova won eight of the last 10 games, and has now won 19 straight three-set matches on clay. "I would love to win those matches in two sets, but I always feel like I put in the work to be ready to play whatever it takes," she said. "If it takes three hours to win the match in three sets, I will be ready for that." Sharapova completed a career Grand Slam by winning the title at Roland Garros in 2012, but lost to Serena Williams in last years final. Bouchard, the No. 18 seed, was playing at the French Open for the only second time. Last year, she lost to Sharapova in the second round. "Im always disappointed with a loss," Bouchard said. "I expect a lot from myself. You know, I felt like I was close today and just came up a bit short. That happens sometimes. I feel like I played a lot of good matches the past two weeks, three weeks even, and so its sad to see it come to an end. "But it just motivates me ... I was still so close. That just gives me extra motivation to work hard in practice and get ready for the next one and have that belief that I can do it." Fourth-seeded Simona Halep of Romania defeated 28th-seeded Andrea Petkovic of Germany 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the other semifinal. The final is scheduled for Saturday. Sharapova struggled a bit with her serve, double-faulting nine times and getting broken four times. But she made up for it with solid groundstrokes, either going for winners or waiting out errors from Bouchard. Bouchard took the early lead with her first break in the third game of the match, smacking a forehand winner to give herself a 2-1 edge. She quickly made it 3-1 by completing a run of winning 12 of 17 points. The pair traded breaks early in the second set, and then again later. But Sharapova managed to stay ahead and broke Bouchard for the third time in the set to even the match at one set apiece. "I dont feel that I played my best tennis, but to be in the semifinals of a Grand Slam and winning a match where I felt my opponent played extremely well, exceptional tennis, and I didnt feel that I was playing my best, I fought, I scrambled, and I found a way to win," Sharapova said. The Russian served first in the third set, and made her move in the fourth game, converting her third break point to take a 3-1 lead that she held onto until the end. "I constructed the points well but I didnt finish them as well as I could," Bouchard said. "In the third set, I didnt feel tired, but she does put so much pressure on you. She elevated her game later in the match, I tried to do my thing and I had a couple of chances but I didnt take my opportunities. "Maybe I let off a bit on my shots in the second and third sets." Bouchard, who lost to eventual champion Li Na at the Australian Open in January, saved four match points before Sharapova won it with a forehand that Bouchard missed on the other end. Bouchard and Carling Bassett-Seguso, who lost in the US Open semifinal in 1984, are the only Canadian singles players who have made the final four at a Grand Slam in the Open era. "The semis of a Grand Slam are always exciting," Bouchard said. "I felt good on the court. I enjoyed it on the big stage. I tried to compete (and gave it) my best. I love playing tennis so I enjoyed being out there. I actually felt better on court than I did in Australia." Sharapova won her first Grand Slam title 10 years ago at Wimbledon. She followed that with major titles at the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. But since she recovered from having right shoulder surgery in 2008, she has vastly improved her clay-court game and has won six of her last eight titles on the red surface. This year, Sharapova has already won clay-court titles in Stuttgart and Rome, and her six wins so far at Roland Garros give her an 18-1 record on the dirt this season. And like against Bouchard, its been tough to beat her in three sets on the surface. The last time Sharapova lost a three-set match on clay was at Roland Garros in 2010, when Justine Henin beat her in the third round. The loss ended a 10-match winning streak on clay for Bouchard, who came to Paris after winning a warmup event in Germany. Sharapova owns a 3-0 career record against the Canadian. She also beat the former Wimbledon junior champion last year in Miami. In the late semifinal, Halep played aggressive tennis from the outset. She finished the first set with 12 winners and seven unforced errors, while Petkovic had only three winners and 14 unforced errors. The second set was much closer as Petkovic played with more consistency, but the 22-year-old Romanian was able to close it out in the tiebreaker with a forehand winner. Both Halep and Petkovic were playing in a major semifinal for the first time. Johnny Bucyk Jersey .com) - World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray and four-time Australian Open titlist Roger Federer were among Mondays fourth-round winners at Melbourne Park. Custom Boston Bruins Jerseys . - Because they didnt go into Beast Mode, the Seattle Seahawks found themselves in Spin Mode. http://www.bruinsstore.com/authentic-bob...ruins-jersey/.Y. - Matt Harvey wants to make sure hes on the mound in late October — if the New York Mets get there for the first time since 2006. Derek Sanderson Jersey . He managed to save par, and went on to put together his best opening round of the year. Calcavecchia and Wes Short Jr. Gerry Cheevers Jersey . -- Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer will be out three to six weeks with a stress fracture of the third finger of his right hand.Sebastian Vettel kept Ferrari on top of the Chinese GP timesheet as heavy rain arrived to saturate the Shanghai circuit for final practice on Saturday morning. However, despite the likelihood of the later qualifying hour also being disrupted by wet weather, Mercedes chose not to set any timed laps with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.Rain was heavily falling at the start of final practice and it was 15 minutes until cars were seen on track, with Williams the first team to dispatch theirs on the full wet tyre. Conditions slowly improved to the point where intermediates could be used - before the rain stopped completely - and Vettel went quickest with a lap of 1:57.351, which was seven tenths quicker than second-fastest man Valtteri Bottas.But in another potential reliability concern for Ferrari after issues in each of the first two races, Vettel reported a gearbox glitch during the course of his fastest lap. He made his way back to the pit lane and then sat out the remainder of the session. The Mercedes pair were among eight drivers who did not set a lap time, with Hamilton and Rosberg only entering track for exploratory laps on the full wet rubber in the early stages. With the timesheet largely irrelevant, Sergio Perez was third for Force India ahead of Toro Rossos Carlos Sainz and the Haas of Esteban Gutierrez.Britains Jolyon Palmer was sixth for Renault, but suffered a right-rear puncture with bodywork rubbing against the tyre thought to have caused the problem. The Enstone team had suffered a left-rear puncture on Kevin Magnussens car on Friday and made suspension changes as a result. When is Chinese GP on Sky? All the broadcast times for the business end of the Shanghai weekend McLaren, eyeing a first Q3 appearance since their reunion with Honda this weekend, did not set any lap times themselves - with Red Bull employing the same tactic.dddddddddddd.The Milton Keynes-based team usually run strongly in wet conditions and could spring a surprise if the rain returns for qualifying at 8am BST.Practice Three timesheet1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:57.3512. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:58.0613. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:58.6894. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 1:58.8005. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, 1:59.5266. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1:59.6777. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 1:59.7618. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1:59.6949. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 2:00.15010. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 2:00.15811. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 2:00.19712. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 2:00.81213. Felipe Massa, Williams, 2:02.43814. Rio Haryanto, Manor, 2:02.73215. Jenson Button, McLaren, No time16. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, No time17. Romain Grosjean, Haas, No time18. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, No time19. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, No time20. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, No time21. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, No time22. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, No timeWatch the Chinese GP weekend - LIVE ONLY on Sky Sports F1. The race starts at 7am on Sunday, with build-up underway from 5.30am. Or watch without a contract for £6.99 on NOW TV. Also See: Wolff: Ferrari really pushing us When is the Chinese GP on Sky? 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