Ivanovic crushes Sharapova to reach French Open final

PARIS, June 7 (Reuters) Serbia's Ana Ivanovic reached the final of a grand slam tournament for the first time with a 6-2 6-1 demolition of world number two Maria Sharapova at the French Open today.

Sharapova's defeat means Belgian Justine Henin, facing Serbia's Jelena Jankovic in the other semi-final, will still be the world number one next week.

The 19-year-old Ivanovic, seeded seventh, outplayed former Wimbledon champion Sharapova in just 65 minutes, sealing victory with an ace on the first match point to become the first player representing Serbia to make the final of a grand slam event.

Russia's Sharapova, 20, feels more at ease on faster surfaces and had never gone beyond the quarter-finals on the Paris clay before this year.

REUTERS BJR RK1910