PARIS — Might be easier said than done. Still, Maria Sharapova offered a tidy aphorism to sum up the formula that's carried her to a third consecutive French Open final.

“It's not how you finish a first set,” Sharapova said, “it's how you finish the last set.”

Right now, no one is a better closer than she is on clay. Sharapova gritted her way to yet another comeback victory, beating 18th-seeded Eugenie Bouchard of Canada 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the semifinals.

In Saturday's final, the No. 7-seeded Sharapova will face No. 4 Simona Halep, a 22-year-old Romanian who never before had been past the quarterfinals at a major. Halep eliminating No. 28 Andrea Petkovic of Germany 6-2, 7-6 (4).

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky gave coach John Calipari a new seven-year, $52.5 million contract that will pay a base package of $6.5 million next season and $8 million over each of the final three seasons.Already one of college basketball’s highest-paid coaches, Calipari led the Wildcats to the 2012 NCAA championship and is coming off his third Final Four appearance in five years with Kentucky, a 60-54 title-game loss to Connecticut in April.