andrewbroad
Feb 26th, 2005, 02:56 AM
SECOND ROUND
* MARIA SHARAPOVA [2] d. Gisela Dulko, 6-1 6-1
Maria confirmed that Gisela is her pigeon after beating her 6-0 6-1 at San Diego last July. Gisela may be a nice girl and a former doubles partner of Maria's, but there's no room for mercy in women's tennis these days.
Maria obviously has Gisela's number, as it were, because Gisela has been on the receiving end of Maria's most one-sided scoreline of 2004, and now of 2005 so far.
Maria: "It was a good match for me to get through, considering that I was playing after a break. I wouldn't call it an easy match because I was tiring at the end. It's never easy to make a comeback after an illness, but I took my opportunities. I still feel I need to work on my fitness levels."
Apparently it was bronchitis that Maria had in Paris.
Maria: "It's never easy in the first round, but this was a good match to get through. It's also never easy to come back from feeling 0% to 100%.
"The people are so generous and nice here. I definitely consider this one of the best places to have a tournament."
Gisela did beat Maria in one department, though. In my opinion, Gisela looked prettier on the court when I searched for "sharapova" at Getty Images.
QUARTER-FINALS
Maria's quarter-final opponent was Marion Bartoli - an intriguing match against a Selesian player, although two hands both sides might actually be a disadvantage against Maria, who has her opponents constantly off-balance or at full stretch.
* MARIA SHARAPOVA [2] d. Marion Bartoli, 6-3 6-2
Maria won nine games in a row from 2-3 to 6-3 5-0, then Marion broke serve before bowing out.
Maria: "I was able to get a lot of balls in today. My shotmaking was pretty OK, and I was fairly consistent with my returns. I was a bit slow at the start, but I recovered well by serving strongly (after the third game). I came up with the goods when I had to.
"I made some errors that I shouldn't have made . But I got my game together and managed to pull ahead. I was ready for her to get a lot of balls back. I thought I was pretty consistent and I managed to find a way to win."
This set up a mouthwatering match with Daniela Hantuchová - Maria's third semi-final of the year (in as many tournaments) but Daniela's first since Eastbourne 2004.
Maria: "I'll definitely be prepared for a tough battle, but I feel up to the challenge."
Daniela: "I feel like I'm playing really well right now. I've had some good matches and I'm feeling confident. I'm really happy about how I closed it out and hope I can bring this confidence into the semis against Sharapova.
"It's been a good start for me this season. I worked very hard in the off-season. My confidence is back. I am looking forward to playing Maria. I know it'll be a tough match, but I am ready for it."
My prediction was that Maria would win 7-5 7-6 (7/3).
Who did I want to win this time? Either way, one of my players would be in the final! :D Maria was always going to be more likely to win the title for me, but it would be more special for Daniela to reach the final with the scalp of the Wimbledon champion. I just wanted both girls to take the motto of my old headmaster on board: "Look your best, do your best, and BE your best."
SEMI-FINAL
"`Please,' she said, `you're so beautiful. You may eat me if you like. I'd sooner be eaten by you than fed by anyone else.'"
[Hwin to Aslan in C.S. Lewis's [i]The Horse and his Boy]
* MARIA SHARAPOVA [2] d. Daniela Hantuchová, 6-2 6-4
The pattern of this mouthwatering match was to have long deuce-games on Daniela's serve, while Maria held serve easily. But it wasn't really a case of missed opportunities for Daniela - instead, she had to save a lot of break-points against her. Daniela put up a good fight in the second set, but Maria is just too good and too ruthless!
I didn't see the match myself (not having access to Eurosport), so I followed it on the Internet at the following sources:
http://www.ebolibet.com/tennislive.htm (point-by-point scores)
http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=153519&page=18 (scores thread)
After rain delayed play for hours and hours, the match finally started at 23:07 Qatar time (20:07 GMT).
First Set
Hantu 0-0: 0/15, 15/15, 40/15, held
Shara 0-1: 15/0, 30/15, 30/30, 40/30, 40/40, ad H (BP), Deuce #2, ad S, held
Terrific resistance from Daniela early on.
Hantu 1-1: 15/15, 30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad S (BP), ad Deuce #2, ad S (BP #2), Deuce #3, ad S (BP #3), Deuce #4, ad S (BP #4), Deuce #5, ad S (BP #5), broken
What a game! At least it wasn't Daniela wasting opportunities yet again. ;)
Shara 2-1: 40/0, 40/15, held
I hope for Daniela's sake that Maria isn't going to run away with this after that long game. On the other hand, a long match might not favour Maria in the final with her fitness-levels being suspect after her illness and she would only have until 17:30 on Saturday to recover...
Hantu 1-3: 0/15, 15/15, 15/30, 30/30, 30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad S (BP #2), Deuce #2, ad S (BP #3), Deuce #3, ad S (BP #3), broken
Shara 4-1: held to love
Maria holds serve easily, then puts so much pressure on Daniela's.
Hantu 1-5: 15/0, 15/15, 15/30, 30/30, 40/30, held
Shara 5-2: 30/0, 30/15, 30/30, 30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad H (BP #2), Deuce #2, ad S (SP), Maria won first set 6-2 at 23:51.
Second Set
Hantu 0-0: 15/0, 15/15, 40/15 -> 40/40, ad H, Deuce #2, ad H, held
Shara 0-1: 15/0, 15/15, 30/15, 40/30, held
Hantu 1-1: 15/0, 15/15, 30/15, 40/15, held for 2-1
A commendable effort for Daniela early in this set. At least she's got as many games as she did at Wimbledon! :o
Shara 2-1: 0/15, 15/15, 30/15, 40/15, 40/30, held
Hantu 2-2: 15/0, 15/15, 15/40 (2 BPs) -> 40/40, ad H, held
What a fightback by Daniela! She saved the two break-points with service-winners, then another good serve to set up a forehand winner down the line, and a drop-volley to finish <http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=153519&page=24>.
Shara 2-3: 0/15, 15/15, 30/15, 30/30, 40/30, held
Hantu 3-3: 0/15, 15/15, 15/30, 30/30, 40/30, 40/40, ad S (BP), Deuce #2, ad H, held
Maria definitely has a fight on her hands in this second set! :)
Shara 3-4: 0/15, 15/15, 30/15, 30/30, 40/30, held
Hantu 4-4: 15/0, 15/15, 15/30, 30/30, 30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad H, Deuce #2, ad H, Deuce #3, ad H, Deuce #4, ad S (BP #2), broken for 4-5
And therein lies the difference between the two. Daniela missed three game-points, then Maria got a break-point and she took it. It's funny how, when you're serving, the points in the deuce-court are often so much easier to win than the points in the ad-court.
Now Maria will serve for the match, just as she did at 6-2 5-4 against Serena Williams at the Australian Open...
Shara 5-4: 0/15, 15/15, 30/15, 40/15 (2 MPs), 40/30, Maria won 6-2 6-4 at 24:40.
Quotes
Maria: "I am excited to be in the final. I am happy with my game and form and I am looking forward to playing Alicia in the final. I am confident that I will play well."
Daniela: "It was pretty tough going on the court so late. My reaction time was a little slow but I'm not going to make excuses. I didn't take my chances. I didn't play the way I've been playing. If I had, the scoreline would have been a bit different."
Preview of Final
Maria faces fourth seed Alicia Molik in a sexy final, after Molik upset top seed Amélie Mauresmo in the other semi (a nice result for me, to be sure). Had Mauresmo won that match, she would have been world number one next week. Because Maria won her semi, she [Maria] will be #3 next week.
Maria lost to Molik 4-6 6-2 6-3 in the Zurich 2004 final - her only loss ever in a WTA or Grand Slam singles final - but she was hampered by a shoulder-injury that reduced her amazing serve to a powder-puff.
I hope it will be more like their Birmingham 2004 quarter-final, where Maria destroyed Molik 6-3 6-1 with one of the most brilliant performances I've ever seen on a tennis-court (I was there). Maria seemed to be in a zone where she was seeing the ball in slow motion and could do whatever she wanted with it - total control and awesome power.
Order of play for Saturday
Centre Court (start 17:30 = 14:30 GMT)
1. Singles final: ALICIA MOLIK [4] v MARIA SHARAPOVA [2]
(suitable rest for Molik)
2. Doubles final: Molik/Francesca Schiavone v Cara Black/Liezel Huber
Udachi Maria!
--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/shara/
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/hantu/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sizzlingsharapova/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/danielahantuchova/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/
* MARIA SHARAPOVA [2] d. Gisela Dulko, 6-1 6-1
Maria confirmed that Gisela is her pigeon after beating her 6-0 6-1 at San Diego last July. Gisela may be a nice girl and a former doubles partner of Maria's, but there's no room for mercy in women's tennis these days.
Maria obviously has Gisela's number, as it were, because Gisela has been on the receiving end of Maria's most one-sided scoreline of 2004, and now of 2005 so far.
Maria: "It was a good match for me to get through, considering that I was playing after a break. I wouldn't call it an easy match because I was tiring at the end. It's never easy to make a comeback after an illness, but I took my opportunities. I still feel I need to work on my fitness levels."
Apparently it was bronchitis that Maria had in Paris.
Maria: "It's never easy in the first round, but this was a good match to get through. It's also never easy to come back from feeling 0% to 100%.
"The people are so generous and nice here. I definitely consider this one of the best places to have a tournament."
Gisela did beat Maria in one department, though. In my opinion, Gisela looked prettier on the court when I searched for "sharapova" at Getty Images.
QUARTER-FINALS
Maria's quarter-final opponent was Marion Bartoli - an intriguing match against a Selesian player, although two hands both sides might actually be a disadvantage against Maria, who has her opponents constantly off-balance or at full stretch.
* MARIA SHARAPOVA [2] d. Marion Bartoli, 6-3 6-2
Maria won nine games in a row from 2-3 to 6-3 5-0, then Marion broke serve before bowing out.
Maria: "I was able to get a lot of balls in today. My shotmaking was pretty OK, and I was fairly consistent with my returns. I was a bit slow at the start, but I recovered well by serving strongly (after the third game). I came up with the goods when I had to.
"I made some errors that I shouldn't have made . But I got my game together and managed to pull ahead. I was ready for her to get a lot of balls back. I thought I was pretty consistent and I managed to find a way to win."
This set up a mouthwatering match with Daniela Hantuchová - Maria's third semi-final of the year (in as many tournaments) but Daniela's first since Eastbourne 2004.
Maria: "I'll definitely be prepared for a tough battle, but I feel up to the challenge."
Daniela: "I feel like I'm playing really well right now. I've had some good matches and I'm feeling confident. I'm really happy about how I closed it out and hope I can bring this confidence into the semis against Sharapova.
"It's been a good start for me this season. I worked very hard in the off-season. My confidence is back. I am looking forward to playing Maria. I know it'll be a tough match, but I am ready for it."
My prediction was that Maria would win 7-5 7-6 (7/3).
Who did I want to win this time? Either way, one of my players would be in the final! :D Maria was always going to be more likely to win the title for me, but it would be more special for Daniela to reach the final with the scalp of the Wimbledon champion. I just wanted both girls to take the motto of my old headmaster on board: "Look your best, do your best, and BE your best."
SEMI-FINAL
"`Please,' she said, `you're so beautiful. You may eat me if you like. I'd sooner be eaten by you than fed by anyone else.'"
[Hwin to Aslan in C.S. Lewis's [i]The Horse and his Boy]
* MARIA SHARAPOVA [2] d. Daniela Hantuchová, 6-2 6-4
The pattern of this mouthwatering match was to have long deuce-games on Daniela's serve, while Maria held serve easily. But it wasn't really a case of missed opportunities for Daniela - instead, she had to save a lot of break-points against her. Daniela put up a good fight in the second set, but Maria is just too good and too ruthless!
I didn't see the match myself (not having access to Eurosport), so I followed it on the Internet at the following sources:
http://www.ebolibet.com/tennislive.htm (point-by-point scores)
http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=153519&page=18 (scores thread)
After rain delayed play for hours and hours, the match finally started at 23:07 Qatar time (20:07 GMT).
First Set
Hantu 0-0: 0/15, 15/15, 40/15, held
Shara 0-1: 15/0, 30/15, 30/30, 40/30, 40/40, ad H (BP), Deuce #2, ad S, held
Terrific resistance from Daniela early on.
Hantu 1-1: 15/15, 30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad S (BP), ad Deuce #2, ad S (BP #2), Deuce #3, ad S (BP #3), Deuce #4, ad S (BP #4), Deuce #5, ad S (BP #5), broken
What a game! At least it wasn't Daniela wasting opportunities yet again. ;)
Shara 2-1: 40/0, 40/15, held
I hope for Daniela's sake that Maria isn't going to run away with this after that long game. On the other hand, a long match might not favour Maria in the final with her fitness-levels being suspect after her illness and she would only have until 17:30 on Saturday to recover...
Hantu 1-3: 0/15, 15/15, 15/30, 30/30, 30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad S (BP #2), Deuce #2, ad S (BP #3), Deuce #3, ad S (BP #3), broken
Shara 4-1: held to love
Maria holds serve easily, then puts so much pressure on Daniela's.
Hantu 1-5: 15/0, 15/15, 15/30, 30/30, 40/30, held
Shara 5-2: 30/0, 30/15, 30/30, 30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad H (BP #2), Deuce #2, ad S (SP), Maria won first set 6-2 at 23:51.
Second Set
Hantu 0-0: 15/0, 15/15, 40/15 -> 40/40, ad H, Deuce #2, ad H, held
Shara 0-1: 15/0, 15/15, 30/15, 40/30, held
Hantu 1-1: 15/0, 15/15, 30/15, 40/15, held for 2-1
A commendable effort for Daniela early in this set. At least she's got as many games as she did at Wimbledon! :o
Shara 2-1: 0/15, 15/15, 30/15, 40/15, 40/30, held
Hantu 2-2: 15/0, 15/15, 15/40 (2 BPs) -> 40/40, ad H, held
What a fightback by Daniela! She saved the two break-points with service-winners, then another good serve to set up a forehand winner down the line, and a drop-volley to finish <http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=153519&page=24>.
Shara 2-3: 0/15, 15/15, 30/15, 30/30, 40/30, held
Hantu 3-3: 0/15, 15/15, 15/30, 30/30, 40/30, 40/40, ad S (BP), Deuce #2, ad H, held
Maria definitely has a fight on her hands in this second set! :)
Shara 3-4: 0/15, 15/15, 30/15, 30/30, 40/30, held
Hantu 4-4: 15/0, 15/15, 15/30, 30/30, 30/40 (BP), 40/40, ad H, Deuce #2, ad H, Deuce #3, ad H, Deuce #4, ad S (BP #2), broken for 4-5
And therein lies the difference between the two. Daniela missed three game-points, then Maria got a break-point and she took it. It's funny how, when you're serving, the points in the deuce-court are often so much easier to win than the points in the ad-court.
Now Maria will serve for the match, just as she did at 6-2 5-4 against Serena Williams at the Australian Open...
Shara 5-4: 0/15, 15/15, 30/15, 40/15 (2 MPs), 40/30, Maria won 6-2 6-4 at 24:40.
Quotes
Maria: "I am excited to be in the final. I am happy with my game and form and I am looking forward to playing Alicia in the final. I am confident that I will play well."
Daniela: "It was pretty tough going on the court so late. My reaction time was a little slow but I'm not going to make excuses. I didn't take my chances. I didn't play the way I've been playing. If I had, the scoreline would have been a bit different."
Preview of Final
Maria faces fourth seed Alicia Molik in a sexy final, after Molik upset top seed Amélie Mauresmo in the other semi (a nice result for me, to be sure). Had Mauresmo won that match, she would have been world number one next week. Because Maria won her semi, she [Maria] will be #3 next week.
Maria lost to Molik 4-6 6-2 6-3 in the Zurich 2004 final - her only loss ever in a WTA or Grand Slam singles final - but she was hampered by a shoulder-injury that reduced her amazing serve to a powder-puff.
I hope it will be more like their Birmingham 2004 quarter-final, where Maria destroyed Molik 6-3 6-1 with one of the most brilliant performances I've ever seen on a tennis-court (I was there). Maria seemed to be in a zone where she was seeing the ball in slow motion and could do whatever she wanted with it - total control and awesome power.
Order of play for Saturday
Centre Court (start 17:30 = 14:30 GMT)
1. Singles final: ALICIA MOLIK [4] v MARIA SHARAPOVA [2]
(suitable rest for Molik)
2. Doubles final: Molik/Francesca Schiavone v Cara Black/Liezel Huber
Udachi Maria!
--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/shara/
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/hantu/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sizzlingsharapova/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/danielahantuchova/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/