PARIS -- Canadas Eugenie Bouchard played like someone who belonged in the final four of a Grand Slam on Thursday. Wholesale Air Jordan . She gave Maria Sharapova a stiff challenge at the French Open before the Russian veteran pulled away late for a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory, derailing Bouchards attempt to become the first Canadian to reach a major singles final in the Open era. As painful as the defeat was for the 20-year-old from Westmount, Que., it will go down as another valuable learning experience on the heels of her first Grand Slam semifinal appearance at this years Australian Open. A look of dejection was etched on her face as she left the court after the nearly 2 1/2-hour long match. It was clear Bouchard wasnt just happy to be on the big stage. She wanted the victory and was crushed when it didnt happen. "She was actually very, very disappointed," Canadian Fed Cup team captain Sylvain Bruneau said on a conference call. "She was not speaking much and I think it shows how much she believes in herself. Sometimes those tough losses are painful but sometimes theyre good. "Sometimes you learn from it and they hurt a little bit and the next time youre in this position, you do a couple things differently and the outcome is different." Sharapova, the No. 7 seed, lost the first set for the third straight match, but again managed to turn things around. "It was a tough battle, it was what I expected," said Bouchard. "I didnt play as well as I had earlier in the tournament. Its always disappointing to be a bit off. I needed to be aggressive and go for my shots." Sharapova won eight of the last 10 games, and has now won 19 straight three-set matches on clay. "I would love to win those matches in two sets, but I always feel like I put in the work to be ready to play whatever it takes," she said. "If it takes three hours to win the match in three sets, I will be ready for that." Sharapova completed a career Grand Slam by winning the title at Roland Garros in 2012, but lost to Serena Williams in last years final. Bouchard, the No. 18 seed, was playing at the French Open for the only second time. Last year, she lost to Sharapova in the second round. "Im always disappointed with a loss," Bouchard said. "I expect a lot from myself. You know, I felt like I was close today and just came up a bit short. That happens sometimes. I feel like I played a lot of good matches the past two weeks, three weeks even, and so its sad to see it come to an end. "But it just motivates me ... I was still so close. That just gives me extra motivation to work hard in practice and get ready for the next one and have that belief that I can do it." Fourth-seeded Simona Halep of Romania defeated 28th-seeded Andrea Petkovic of Germany 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the other semifinal. The final is scheduled for Saturday. Sharapova struggled a bit with her serve, double-faulting nine times and getting broken four times. But she made up for it with solid groundstrokes, either going for winners or waiting out errors from Bouchard. Bouchard took the early lead with her first break in the third game of the match, smacking a forehand winner to give herself a 2-1 edge. She quickly made it 3-1 by completing a run of winning 12 of 17 points. The pair traded breaks early in the second set, and then again later. But Sharapova managed to stay ahead and broke Bouchard for the third time in the set to even the match at one set apiece. "I dont feel that I played my best tennis, but 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 didnt feel that I was playing my best, I fought, I scrambled, and I found a way to win," Sharapova said. The Russian served first in the third set, and made her move in the fourth game, converting her third break point to take a 3-1 lead that she held onto until the end. "I constructed the points well but I didnt finish them as well as I could," Bouchard said. "In the third set, I didnt feel tired, but she does put so much pressure on you. She elevated her game later in the match, I tried to do my thing and I had a couple of chances but I didnt take my opportunities. "Maybe I let off a bit on my shots in the second and third sets." Bouchard, who lost to eventual champion Li Na at the Australian Open in January, saved four match points before Sharapova won it with a forehand that Bouchard missed on the other end. Bouchard and Carling Bassett-Seguso, who lost in the US Open semifinal in 1984, are the only Canadian singles players who have made the final four at a Grand Slam in the Open era. "The semis of a Grand Slam are always exciting," Bouchard said. "I felt good on the court. I enjoyed it on the big stage. I tried to compete (and gave it) my best. I love playing tennis so I enjoyed being out there. I actually felt better on court than I did in Australia." Sharapova won her first Grand Slam title 10 years ago at Wimbledon. She followed that with major titles at the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. But since she recovered from having right shoulder surgery in 2008, she has vastly improved her clay-court game and has won six of her last eight titles on the red surface. This year, Sharapova has already won clay-court titles in Stuttgart and Rome, and her six wins so far at Roland Garros give her an 18-1 record on the dirt this season. And like against Bouchard, its been tough to beat her in three sets on the surface. The last time Sharapova lost a three-set match on clay was at Roland Garros in 2010, when Justine Henin beat her in the third round. The loss ended a 10-match winning streak on clay for Bouchard, who came to Paris after winning a warmup event in Germany. Sharapova owns a 3-0 career record against the Canadian. She also beat the former Wimbledon junior champion last year in Miami. In the late semifinal, Halep played aggressive tennis from the outset. She finished the first set with 12 winners and seven unforced errors, while Petkovic had only three winners and 14 unforced errors. The second set was much closer as Petkovic played with more consistency, but the 22-year-old Romanian was able to close it out in the tiebreaker with a forehand winner. Both Halep and Petkovic were playing in a major semifinal for the first time. Fake Jordan . Catch all the action on TSN starting at 10:30pm et/7:30pm pt. Toronto won at Denver and Utah, but lost in Portland and Sacramento. The Kings loss was the most recent game for the Raptors. Air Jordan China . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left. https://www.jordanchina.us/ . After losing Brett Cecil to groin tightness on Friday, the Blue Jays watched as R.Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Kevin Durant was not effective in his return after a two-game absence, and the Memphis Grizzlies tough defense shut down the Oklahoma City Thunder, 85-74, on Saturday. Durant and Russell Westbrook each shot 5-of-16 for Oklahoma City, losers in four of its last five. The Grizzlies were led by their frontcourt duo of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. Randolph paced the game with 21 points and 18 rebounds, and Gasol added 15 points, 12 boards and five assists. In his own return from a two-game absence, Mike Conley scored 10 points for Memphis, which has won six in a row. Its a standard thats being set, Conley said. Hopefully, we will continue to play with that effort and energy. The first three quarters were evenly played, but Memphis pulled away with an 11-2 run to start the final period. Nick Calathes scored four of those points, and all 11 were from the Grizzlies bench. After Serge Ibakas fadeaway cut Oklahoma Citys deficit to 11 with 5:17 to go, the Thunder went three minutes without scoring to end any chance of a comeback. In the fourth quarter, Oklahoma City turned the ball over eight times and only had one assist on four made baskets. We lost our composure, Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. When we got down three or four points, we didnt come together. Durant was actually sharp in his return to action early, scoring five points on 2-of-3 shooting in the firrst quarter. Air Jordan Discount. The same was true for Conley, who scored all 10 of his points in the period to help the Grizzlies take a 25-20 lead after one quarter. Each team shot below 30 percent in the second quarter, and Memphis held a 45-40 lead at the break. Despite holding the Grizzlies frontcourt duo of Gasol and Randolph to 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting through one half, the Thunders own struggles from the field prevented them from taking advantage. Oklahoma City started the second quarter on a 7-0 run before an acrobatic Tony Allen layup got the Grizzlies on the board. That started an 8-0 Memphis run that gave it the lead for the remainder of the game. Anthony Morrows triple after a loose ball scramble pulled the Thunder within three with 32 seconds to go, but Gasol hit a pair of free throws to end the half. The third quarter was evenly played, but Randolph and Gasol started to take over. The two combined for 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting, and a Jeff Green bucket accounted for the Grizzlies only two other points in the period. They led 68-62 after three. Game Notes Durant was out of action with a toe injury, and Conley was battling a wrist injury ... Memphis scored 18 points off 18 Oklahoma City turnovers ... The Grizzlies and Thunder shot 37 and 34.6 percent, respectively ... Memphis outscored Oklahoma City in the paint, 44-22. ' ' '