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PARIS -- Nothing came easily for Maria Sharapova in the French Open final. Serves hit by her surgically repaired shoulder often missed the mark, resulting in 12 double-faults. Shots that would be winners against most opponents were retrieved by Simona Halep and sent right back. Leads that usually hold up vanished in a blink. On a muggy afternoon, with the temperature in the high 70s (20s Celsius), points were lung-searing struggles. Sharapova was up to the task. In an entertaining and undulating championship match -- the first womens final at Roland Garros in 13 years to go three sets -- Sharapova showed that shes as tough as they come, particularly on the red clay that used to flummox her. She edged Halep 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4 Saturday to win a second French Open title in three years. "This is the toughest Grand Slam final Ive ever played," Sharapova said. It is her fifth major trophy in all. Remarkably, Sharapova owns twice as many from Paris as the one each she won at Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006, and the Australian Open in 2008. "If somebody had told me ... at some stage in my career, that Id have more Roland Garros titles than any other Grand Slam, Id probably go get drunk," Sharapova said with a chuckle. "Or tell them to get drunk. One or the other." The 3-hour, 2-minute tangle featured too many momentum swings to count, filled with lengthy baseline exchanges, and terrific defence and shotmaking by both women. Not bad for someone who once famously described herself as feeling like a "cow on ice" when it came to playing on clay, a slow, demanding surface that requires excellent footwork. Now Sharapova knows how to move on clay, and can stretch points when needed. Since the start of 2012, Sharapova is 54-4 with seven titles on clay. Shes also won 20 consecutive clay three-setters, including four in a row this week. "It says that shes very fit. It says that shes very determined," said Sven Groenefeld, Sharapovas coach. "And it says that she never gives up." Sharapova broke into a huge smile while hoisting the trophy overhead, then shaking it with both hands and scanning a stadium that, improbably, has become hers. This was her third final in a row in Paris: She won the 2012 title to complete a career Grand Slam, then lost last year to Serena Williams, who bowed out in the second round this time. Sharapova is 20-1 the last three years at Roland Garros -- which is nothing compared to Rafael Nadals 65-1 career French Open mark heading into Sundays final Sunday against Novak Djokovic, but certainly quite impressive. "Youre not just born being a natural clay-court player. OK, maybe if youre Nadal. But certainly not me," Sharapova said. "I didnt grow up on it; didnt play on it. I just took it upon myself to make myself better on it." Plus, Sharapova had an operation on her right shoulder, the one she uses to swing her racket, in October 2008. That joint troubled the Russian again in 2013, when she played one match from July to December. She now travels with a physiotherapist, Jerome Bianchi, and told him during the post-match ceremony, "Thank you for keeping me healthy." This was the ninth Grand Slam final for the No. 7-seeded Sharapova, and the first for Halep, a 22-year-old Romanian seeded fourth. Supported by a dozen folks in her guest box wearing red T-shirts saying "Allez Simona," and fans that chanted her first name, Halep acquitted herself well, showing off the scrambling baseline style that carried her to six straight-set wins until Saturday. "I will not forget this match," said Halep, who wiped away tears afterward. Each time it appeared Sharapova was ready to pull away, she was forced to do extra work. At 4-3 in the second set, Sharapova held two break points, but Halep saved both with gutsy groundstrokes. In the tiebreaker, Sharapova got within two points of victory at 5-3, but Halep took the next four to claim the set. Thats when Sharapova left for the locker room, taking an 8-minute break during which she changed out of her sweat-soaked outfit -- and let Halep stew for a bit. Sharapova went ahead 4-2, but Halep broke back to 4-all. It turned out that was her last stand, though. Sharapova wouldnt lose another point, gritting her teeth and shaking her fists after breaking at love for 5-4 with a backhand winner, then holding at love by forcing a backhand error from Halep on match point. When it ended, Sharapova dropped to her knees, caking her shins with clay, and folded her body forward, burying her face in her hands. "I had good tactics today. I opened the angles. Also, I was hitting the ball strong," Halep said. But Sharapova, Halep continued, "was moving really well." 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FIFA had issued a warning to the NFF last week after the federation was served with court proceedings from the government that prevented the NFFs president from running the NFFs day-to-day affairs.FORT WORTH, Texas -- IndyCar owner Ed Carpenter now drives his car only on ovals. He does it well. Carpenter stayed in front of Will Power during a two-lap shootout to win at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday night after a late caution night wiped out his huge lead. The victory came two weeks after a late accident took away any chance to win the Indianapolis 500. "Its just good to bounce back," Carpenter said. "Nothing really totally makes up for missed opportunity at the Speedway. But at the same time, it always feels good to win, especially a place like this. ... This is a big win for us." On the final green-flag stop with 35 laps left, Carpenter beat polesitter and season points leader Power off pit road. Team Penske driver Power made things worse when he was penalized for speeding out of the pits. "Im just going too hard," said Power, who had his fourth drive-thru penalty in five races but kept the points lead. "I just go for race wins. Im not looking at points." Power was sixth, and Carpenter had a lead of about 18 seconds over Juan Pablo Montoya, when Takuma Satos engine blew and his car caught fire with seven laps left. While the top four cars stayed out during that caution, Power went in for fresh tires. That gave him the chance to make up some ground, and he made a big charge after the final restart to finish second, only a half-second back. With another lap, the outcome might have been different. "I dont know. Ed was awfully strong," Power said. "Hes an awesome driver and it would have been a good battle at the end. ... It was a lot of fun." Carpenters third career victory, all on ovals, came after leading 90 of 248 laps. After winning at Kentucky for Sarah Fisher Racing in 2011, he started his own team the next year and won the season finale at California. Carpenter was on the pole at Indy the last two seasons, and this year is leaving the road and street courses to Mike Coonway.dddddddddddd Conway won at Long Beach the second race this season and was in the cockpit for both races at Detroit last weekend. So this was the first race for Carpenter since the late crash at Indy with James Hinchcliffe. "It feels good. Theres no denying the fact that I was really mad after Indy," Carpenter said. "Its not that Im still mad at Hinch, but Im still mad at the situation and we lost an opportunity. ... Were just going to keep the intensity up and try to keep fighting for wins." Carpenter went to the high side to get around Power on lap 182, and within a lap had already pushed ahead by nearly a second. Power led 145 laps. Montoya finished third, ahead of Simon Pagenaud, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan -- the only drivers to finish on the lead lap. Helio Castroneves, the defending race winner and a four-time winner at Texas, was 10th. The race was 20 laps longer than last year when Castroneves won. At the end of 228 laps, the length of the 2013 race, Carpenter had a 13 1/2-second lead over Montoya. Indianapolis 500 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, the Dallas-born driver who has said he "definitely, desperately" wants to win at Texas, had another tough weekend and only finished 135 laps before losing power and oil pressure. Since winning at Indy, Andretti Motorsport driver Hunter-Reay finished 16th and 19th at the dual races in Detroit and 19th at Texas. Marco Andretti, his teammate, finished last in the 22-car field after his own mechanical issues. Andretti started 17th and quickly moved into the top 10 after three laps before his engine blew and the car caught fire while he was trying to get back into the pits. He had to stop on the apron out of Turn 4, then hopped out of the car and walked back to his pit box. "This ones frustrating and this one really