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A top-level effort by Eugenie Bouchard falls just short against Maria Sharapova at the French Open

PARIS – When it was over, and 2012 champion and 2013 finalist Maria Sharapova had reached yet another French Open final with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory over Canadian upstart Genie Bouchard, there were two differing versions of events.

There was Sharapova's take, in which she bemoaned her own poor play and lauded her young opponent for her exceptional tennis.

"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 didn't feel that I was playing my best, I fought, I scrambled, and I found a way to win. I'm happy and proud about that," she said.

Then, there was Bouchard's version, in which she felt she had her chances (she did) but didn't play well (arguable).

"I felt, you know, the whole match I didn't play as well as I have played earlier in the tournament. You know, it's always disappointing to be a little bit off. I felt like I was trying to do what I wanted to do, which was, you know, be aggressive, go for my shots. But, you know, often I constructed the point well and then didn't finish it as well as I could," Bouchard said. "So, you know, I'm just going to, you know, work on that next time in practice."

Somewhere between the two lies a version nearer the truth. And truth be told, Sharapova's analysis might be a little close to that happy medium than Bouchard's.

The biggest variable in Bouchard's analysis was that, compared to her matches earlier in the tournament, she was facing a far more formidable opponent. Carla Suarez Navarro admitted after losing to the Canadian in the quarter-finals that she "lacked courage" to finish things off when she led 4-1 in the third set.

You knew that Sharapova would have no such courage issues, if it came down to that.

But one thing seemed true towards the end of that second set, when Bouchard broke serve

as Sharapova attempted to serve it out at 5-3 and ended up evenings things at 5-5. If the youngster had serious designs on winning the match and reaching her first Grand Slam final, it was highly advisable to get it done right there, in straight sets.

Bouchard had the clear support of a crowd that might respect its former champion, but has never particularly warmed to her. It's partly because Sharapova isn't the type to endear herself with the crowds; she's not exactly the warm and fuzzy type. Part of it is also because of the infernal screaming.

And, in sharp contrast to that long-ago photo of the two that made the rounds yesterday, it was Bouchard who had by far the bigger entourage for this match.

In Sharapova's box sat just three men, including coach Sven Groeneveld.

In Bouchard's area - not a seat to be had. It seemed half of Tennis Canada was there to celebrate the Canadian achievement. New CEO Kelly Murumets flew in overnight Tuesday to be there for Bouchard's victory over Suárez Navarro. Head of high performance Louis Borfiga snagged himself a front-row seat, right next to Bouchard's coach Nick Saviano, conditioning coach Scott Byrnes and Fed Cup captain Sylvain Bruneau, and thus ensured maximum camera time in his native France.

The end of the second set was tight-shorties time. Sharapova was double-faulting, the game was going back and worth. And the absolute quiet – the suspenseful silence inside Court Philippe Chatrier every time she prepared to hit her second serve – was almost eerie. But this is nothing new for

Sharapova in the last few years, since shoulder woes first threw off her mechanics, then required surgery. She's used to dealing with it; the inconsistency on serve is just something she accepts and turns the page on.

It was Bouchard's moment. She couldn't quite make it happen. And if it this was going to go the distance, a third set, Sharapova instantly became a clear favorite.

The Russian hadn't lost a three-set match on a clay court since she lost to the now-retired Justine Henin at the French Open – four years ago. Once she gets her cleats into a clay-court match, she's awfully tough to take down.

In this tournament alone, the 27-year-old Russian had come back from a set down in each of her previous two matches, against young Spaniard Garbiñe Muguruza and veteran Aussie Samantha Stosur. In the third sets of those matches, she gave up a total of ... one game.

Bouchard got two games. And let's discount the actual tennis she tried to play in that final set. It wasn't a physical fatigue thing, it was the cumulative effect of standing up to Sharapova's power, presence and ferocity. Bouchard played a little like a punch-drunk boxer who was trying to finish the 12th round, even though the bout's decision was already a fait accompli. She wasn't tired, or desperate, as the errors kept coming.

She was just done.

"In the third I thought I was the aggressive one. I stepped up and I was doing things that I had wanted to do, which was I feel maybe I should have done earlier," Sharapova said.

"She's a great player and always puts a lot of pressure on you," Bouchard said. "You know, I think she kind of elevated her game a little bit later on in the match. I was still trying to do my thing, but, yeah, you know, I had a couple chances here and there and just didn't take my opportunities when I had a few of them."

Bouchard held firmly against the Sharapova onslaught or more than two hours and dished out plenty of her own, an impressive achievement. You certainly have to think, had she been in the other half of the draw and faced either Simona Halep or Andrea Petkovic (Halep ended up winning the second semi-final and is into her first Grand Slam final against Sharapova), she'd have had an even better chance.

On the plus side, Bouchard handled the big moment superbly. That wasn't necessarily the case in her first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open in January, when she often looked overmatched and a bit overawed against Li Na of China.

Not so this time. And perhaps even less so the next time.

One thing that is true in anyone's version of Genie Bouchard's French Open: there will be a next time.