Maria Sharapova: Dominating Start Does Not Guarantee Aussie Open Title

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: January 22, 2013

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Maria Sharapova has only dropped nine games in five matches at the 2013 Australian Open, which is by far the fewest amount of games dropped by any women in the draw.

While three of Sharapova's victories were over unranked players, her performance against Venus Williams in the third round and versus Ekaterina Makarova in the quarterfinals were impressive wins posted over ranked competitors. 

Through five matches, Sharapova has only been on the court for a total of five hours and 15 minutes. That's an average of one hour and three minutes per match, which is nothing short of remarkable at a Grand Slam event.

Arguing against Sharapova's dominance thus far would be unintelligible, but even her most ardent supporters would find it difficult to call her the favorite to win the tournament. 

The reason why is simple.

Serena Williams is still in the draw. 

In their 12 matches, Sharapova has only beaten Serena twice, with her most recent victory coming way back in 2004 at the WTA Tour Championship Final.

Since then, Sharapova has only taken three sets against Williams. Part of the reason for Sharapova's lack of success is the determination in which Williams enters a match when facing off against Maria. 

Serena always makes sure to bring her A-game when Sharapova is across the net, which cannot be said for her mindset against every player. Of course, I'm sure Sharapova wouldn't mind getting a little less respect from Williams if it meant another win or two.



With her dominating serve, powerful groundstrokes and better overall mobility, Williams has been one problem that Sharapova has failed to solve.

Simply put, as long as Ms. Serena Williams is in the draw, Sharapova cannot be considered the preeminent favorite to win any tournament. That's not meant to be a knock on Sharapova, as the same could be said for any player on tour.&...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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