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	PARIS: Maria Sharapova won her second French Open title in three years at Roland Garros on Saturday, defeating Romania&amp;#39;s Simona Halep 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 in a gripping final, the first to go the full distance in Paris in 13 years and the second longest on record.&lt;/div&gt;
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	It was the 27-year-old Russian&amp;#39;s fifth Grand Slam title, bringing her level with Martina Hingis on the all-time list and it came 10 years after she won her first major at Wimbledon 2004.&lt;/div&gt;
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	Sharapova, who completed a career sweep of all four Grand Slam titles in Paris in 2012 before losing to Serena Williams last year, also moved to number two on the all-time prize money earnings, with only the American ahead of her.&lt;/div&gt;
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	But it took all her legendary grit and resolve to recover from the loss of the second set on a tie-break after she had stood just two points away from the title at 5/3.&lt;/div&gt;
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	&amp;quot;It&amp;#39;s the toughest Grand Slam final I have ever played,&amp;quot; said Sharapova.&lt;/div&gt;
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	&amp;quot;I can&amp;#39;t believe that at 27 I have won the French Open more times than any other Grand Slam.&amp;quot;&lt;/div&gt;
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	The consolation for Halep, whose meteoric rise to the top bracket in women&amp;#39;s tennis over the last 18 months has projected her as a potential champion, was that she will climb to a career-high third in the world rankings.&lt;/div&gt;
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	The two finalists reached the championship match in starkly contrasting styles.&lt;/div&gt;
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	Fourth-seeded Halep did not drop a single set in her six matches, while seventh-seed Sharapova needed to battle back from first set losses in her three previous outings.&lt;/div&gt;