Superstar vs the Underdog?

I know it is time for Euro 2012, but I have to talk about tennis. After all, it is the only sport that I am good at. French Open, which is also known as Roland Garros (named after the infamous French aviator Roland Garros), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June of each year. Today (June 9), the women singles final will take place in Paris, when Russian Maria Sharapova takes on Italian Sara Errani.

Maria is a well-known tennis player worldwide and has been enjoying great success on and off the courts. On the tennis court, she is a three-time Grand Slam winner and is the current world number one female tennis player. Off the tennis court, Maria has been the highest-paid female athlete in the world for seventh consecutive years (as of 2011). At 6 foot 2 feet tall, she is one of the tallest female tennis player in the world; with a powerful serve and heavy ground strokes. Meanwhile, Sara Errani is relatively unknown to the audience. In fact, she has never been in the spotlight until this year's tournament in Paris. At 5 foot 5 feet only, Sara will have a disadvantage against the much taller and stronger Maria. However, French Open is usually a hot bed for upsets. This is because the court surface is red clay, which is much slower than regular hard courts. Therefore, players with less power (like Sara) could wait for their chances as long as they play good defense against their more powerful opponents. 

                                                  Photo provided by Håkan Dahlström

If Maria beat Sara tomorrow, she would complete her career "Grand Slam" (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open). If Sara wins, she would become the second Italian (first is Francesca Schiavone) ever to win a female Grand Slam tennis event in singles. I give the edge to Maria Sharapova but Sara Errani has just won the female doubles title at French Open today (June 8), so I expect her to be highly motivated to 'give Maria a run for her money.'