French Open 2012: Maria Sharapova bounces back to No 1 form to make final against Sara Errani "I always loved what I did," she added. When tennis was taken away from me for a while, that's when I realised how grateful I was and how lucky I was to be playing it. When you get here and you look back at the work that you put in, and the toughest days that you can remember, it's all really worth it. It was appropriate that Sharapova should have finished Thursday's semi-final with a second-serve ace, because this was surely her best serving performance of the year. Since her shoulder operation, her remodelled motion has neither been as simple nor as effective as the old one, often letting her down under pressure. But this felt like a breakthrough moment: she landed a fraction under 80 per cent of her first serves, even though the windy conditions must have been a challenge for her steepling ball toss. Sharapova seems to have every aspect of her game on song, as well as the sort of cold-eyed killer's mindset that La Femme Nikita would admire. In this sort of form, it is easy to see her reigning over the Women's Tennis Association Tour for some time. But then, when you are talking about the world's best women, you cannot read too much into any one event. Whoever wins on Saturday, we are about to have our sixth grand slam champion in as many tournaments stretching back to the start of 2011. These women are almost as unpredictable as Rory McIlroy and the other top golfers. Yesterday's semi-finals started late because of heavy rain, and the damp conditions may have contributed to Errani's unexpected win over Sam Stosur of Australia in the first match. It was a good day to be a scrambler and a scrapper, which is exactly the way the 5ft 4in Errani goes about her tennis. As for Stosur, according to her quarter-final opponent Dominika Cibulkova, "she plays like a man." Which is about right, because unlike the other leading women, Stosur has a big, kicking serve, backed up by a heavy topspin forehand. Watching her crushing her opponents on the way to the semi-final was a little like watching a right-hand Rafael Nadal. Stosur should really have smashed Errani as well. She has so much power, delivered by a right arm that bulges like a sock full of billiard balls. Her winner count yesterday was more than double that of her opponent, who just kept returning as many balls as possible, in the hope that Stosur would fire wide. Even Errani must have been surprised when the strategy worked. "You're always going to be a bit nervous going in," said Stosur, whose internal tension had clearly overwhelmed her. It's a semi-final of a slam. I just didn't do enough, really. It just sucks that it happened here today. The men's semi-finals will be held this afternoon, and Paris's inclement weather could again play a role, for gale-force winds have been forecast. Nadal plays first, against Andy Murray's conqueror David Ferrer. But the real showpiece is likely to be the rematch of last year's semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. The 2011 match was one of the highlights of the season, seeing Federer end Djokovic's six-month unbeaten streak at 43 wins.