French Open 2012: Why Maria Sharapova Will Dominate Sara Errani

Sara Errani has been the classic Cinderella story in the 2012 French Open.  The 24th ranked Italian just took the doubles championship alongside her partner and best friend Roberta Vinci and now she's set to square off with Maria Sharapova in the final round of the singles championship. 

Errani has defeated two top-10 opponents to get to the finals.  Her semifinal matchup against sixth ranked Samantha Stosur was something to be admired.  Undersized and overmatched, Errani kept her cool and took down the Australian in three sets.  Stosur's style of play is very similar to that of Sharapova's.  But, as Sara Errani will soon find out, Samantha Stosur is no Maria Sharapova.

Just like Stosur, Sharapova has a terrific serve and great first-strike capabilities.  Errani stayed calm and frustrated Stosur, but Sharapova has a tremendous amount of patience and will not let Errani get her off her game.  The proven Sharapova has shown that she is not prone to choking in clutch situations.

Errani's biggest weakness is her height and inability to respond to the the type of power that taller players like Sharapova can generate.  She will have to force Sharapova to play her game, but it does not seem as if that is an actual possibility.  Sharapova will overpower Errani in rallies and with the serve.

Another spot where Errani will show she can not match up with a player like Sharapova is with her serve.  Errani's weak serve is like a dream for someone with the serve-breaking capabilities of Sharapova.  This talent for serve breaking may be the best facet of Sharapova's game and it will be a contributing factor to her domination of Sara Errani.