French Open 2012: Sharapova, Errani Will Meet In Women's Final

Maria Sharapova In French Open 2012 Final, Regains No. 1 Ranking

After Thursday's play, the women's final match is set in the 2012 French Open. Not only do we know who will be facing off for the title at the Roland Garros, but we will have a new women's No. 1 at the end of the Grand Slam event.

Victoria Azarenka, who was the world No. 1 women's player coming into the tournament, was upset and knocked out in the fourth round, without even managing to reach the quarterfinals. The way was clear for No. 2 Maria Sharapova to gain significant ground, which she did with aplomb.

On Thursday, Sharapova defeated No. 4 Petra Kvitova in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. She now advances to the final and has accrued enough points throughout the Roland Garros to take over the world No. 1 ranking, bumping Azarenka to No. 2.

Sharapova's opponent in the final will be No. 21 Sara Errani, who had a hard-won match in the other semifinal against No. 6 Samantha Stosur. Errani prevailed, 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 to advance.

You can see a full French Open scoreboard at SI.com.

For more updates on the 2012 French Open, please stay tuned to this StoryStream. For lots more on all things tennis, keep checking SB Nation's dedicated tennis hub.

French Open Results: Sara Errani Defeats Sam Stosur To Make First Major Final

Sara Errani's excellent run in the 2012 French Open is going to continue for one more round. She gifted the second set of her semifinal match to Samantha Stosur, but came back strong in the third to advance to the first major final of her career with a 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 victory.

The first set was dead even, with the two players trading breaks to get back on serve. Stosur faltered and let Errani take the set with a late break of serve, and the Italian took a 1-0 lead while avoiding a tiebreak. In the second set, Errani was broken in her first two service games and appeared to concede the set to Stosur while saving her energy for the third and final set.

Errani grabbed an early break in the third, but Stosur broke back to get the final set back on serve. There didn't appear to be much separating the two players in the third set, but Stosur had a poor service game with Errani up 4-3, committing a couple of unforced errors en route to giving up a break. She couldn't recover, and Errani easily won the following service game to win the set and the match.

You can see a full French Open scoreboard at SI.com.

For more updates on the 2012 French Open, please stay tuned to this StoryStream. For lots more on all things tennis, keep checking SB Nation's dedicated tennis hub.

French Open 2012: Women's Semifinal Previews

The 2012 women's French Open semifinals take place on Thursday, with Maria Sharapova attempting to move to No. 1 in the world, Sam Stosur attempting to reach her second slam final in three tries, Petra Kvitova trying to find consistency, and Sara Errani hoping to keep a dream fortnight alive.

French Open TV Schedule 2012: Maria Sharapova Headlines Women's Semifinals

Maria Sharapova is eyeing her first French Open title. She'll have to get through Petra Kvitova on Thursday.