Re: AO 2013: The Bridesmaid-Bride Double. The Sequel.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoPova
Serena had one of her best serving performances of the year. Her ground game was solid. The only thing she could've done better was returning Maria's serve, but you are bound to make a few mistakes if you bash the return as hard as she does, which is actually a good tactic against Maria, since it puts pressure on her serve and she starts DFing, jut like it happened at the Olympics.
Serving was good, groundies were very average, but the return was on. I remember she hit 13 return winners including the one on match point. Maria's serve was amazing in Istanbul.
I don't think Vika or Maria will beat Serena soon, no matter the surface. The greates thing about Serena is that she can up her game and intensity whenever she needs it. So she's hardly ever losing matches against top players. It's almost like a robot Maria played really well in that Istanbul final, but it's very difficult for women to win matches if they can't break their opponents' serve
I have zero belief it will happen except on red clay and I really mean it.
Maria's serve and even the second one on red clay are quite difficult to return, she is good during rallies takes the ball where she likes most of the time and the fact that Serena can't move on clay as well as she moves on HC will help. She will also have a look on Serena's serve since on clay it can't be as fast as it is on HC or grass.
But for the other surfaces I agree I don't expect anything anymore even when Serena's form seems dubious she ends up losing against scrubs and the opportunity is gone for Maria.
Re: AO 2013: The Bridesmaid-Bride Double. The Sequel.
Sharapova will win her 5th slam here!! *finger crossed*
and for the dress, personally my fave is her 2006 babydoll dress #cute and also her 2008 white dress because she won the tournament with that dress lol
__________________ "I will never leave you. i will never hurt you. and i will never stop loving you."
SUICIDE title : prague 2009, Moskow 2010, Paris 2011
FITD title : Stuttgart 2012
Re: AO 2013: The Bridesmaid-Bride Double. The Sequel.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoPova
It gets boring after a while! there's a feeling that no other girl has a chance to win against Serena or even make it close, if she plays her best. In the men's tour the top 4 is dominant, but there are some upsets at times. The top 10 is generally competitive in their matches against Fed, Nole, Rafa and Andy. Serena just crushes everybody
Re: AO 2013: The Bridesmaid-Bride Double. The Sequel.
MARIA SHARAPOVA- AUSTRALIAN OPEN BEST OF
2005
Maria came in as the 4th seed and still 17 after having a fantastic year in 2004 in which she won Wimbledon and the YEC, beating Serena in both finals. She had a tough road to the Semifinals playing three 3 set matches including her epic battle versus No.5 seed and US Open champion Kuznetsova in the Quarterfinals 4-6 6-2 6-2 (She also beat Li along the way, losing only 2 games).
Amazing high quality match between the Wimbledon and US Open champions. High quality, lots of drama and the famous EPIC match point starting at 12:00.
Then, in the Semifinals, Maria went up against Serena Williams who was struggling with form and injuries. Maria had a 6-2 5-4 lead and was serving for the match and also had 3 match points in the 3rd set, but failed to capitalize. Even though she lost, she gave Serena one of her toughest wins of her career, so it deserves a mention! Serena won 2-6 7-5 8-6.
2006
Maria once again came to the Aussie Open as the 4th seed after a consistent 2005. She powered her way to the Semis without losing a set. In the 4th round she beat an in form Hantuchova 6-4 6-4 who eliminated the defending champion, Serena in the previous round and in the Quarterfinals, she had a hard fought 7-6 6-4 win over No.6 seed Nadia Petrova. She started her Semifinal strong, but wasn't able to close it out the right way and eventually lost to Henin 4-6 6-1 6-4.
2007
For the 2nd time in her career, Maria was the 1st seed at a Grand Slam. At the very start of the tournament, Maria had huge trouble, playing outdoors at nearly 50 degrees Celsius(one of the hottest days in tennis history). Her opponent was Camille Pin and after a strong start, the heat affected Maria's game in the 2nd set. In the 3rd, she was able to pull it together and gain a 5-0 lead, but shortly, Pin came back in the match and was 2 points away from winning. Maria's mental toughness pulled her through as she was able to invest her very last atoms of energy and win 6-3 4-6 9-7 in one of the matches we will always remember. She had a rough road to the finals, but she won her next 6 matches in straight sets. She played Zvonareva in R4, winning 7-5 6-4 in a very high quality and dramatic 2 setter. She later beat Chakvetadze 7-6 7-5 and sent Kim into retirement in the Semifinals, beating her 6-4 6-2 with another awesome match point. In the final, she played Serena who had slipped down to No. 81 in the world. To everyone's shock, Serena won in 52 minutes 6-1 6-2 and gave one of the best performances of her life. As a result of reaching the final, maria returned to No.1
2008- *Australian Open Champion*
After a tough and injury filled 2007 season, Maria came back to Australia as the 5th seed. The Australian Open had received a makeover and the entire venue and courts were a very nice shade of blue for the first time in history and our Siberian Siren was the 1st woman to win it in this edition! She dominated her way to her 3rd Grand Slam title, losing only 32 games and winning each of her matches in straight sets. She had a very tough draw, but managed to beat 4 Top 10 players in a row, including 3 Top 5! Maria raced through her first 4 rounds, dismantling Davenport 6-1 6-2, bageling Vesnina and demolishing Dementieva 6-2 6-0 to set up another match with her long time rival, Justine Henin. Henin had won 10 titles in 2007 including 2 Slams and the YEC and was on a 32 match winning streak and had not lost a match since Wimbledon. Maria have Henin the toughest win of her 2007 at the YEC final, but this time she was determined to win. With one of the most brilliant performances of her life, Maria beat Henin 6-4 6-0 and left the tennis world in shock. To this day this remains Maria's 'magnum opus'. She wasn't planning on stopping there though as she was set to win. She beat No.3 Jankovic in the semis 6-3 6-1 games and No.4(and new No.2) Ana Ivanovic in the final 7-5 6-3.
2010
After missing the 2009 edition due to shoulder injury, Maria returned to Melbourne as the 14th seed. Shockingly, she lost to Maria Kirilenko in the 1st round 7-6 3-6 6-4. She fought hard, but made over 70 UE which cost her the match.
2011
Maria had a disappointing 2010 and we all remember the Asian Swing and the early AO preps. It looked like Maria had hit rock bottom, but a new year is new hope! She was ranked No.16, but was seeded 14th in the draw. After a solid win in the 1st round, she had a tough match against Razzano in the 2nd round, but found her game when she needed to. After that came a spectacular match versus Goerges, one of the best in the 2011 edition of the Aussie Open which Maria won 4-6 6-4 6-4. She then faced an inspired Andra Petkovic and once again, made far many errors and convincingly lost 6-2 6-3.
2012
For the 3rd time in her career, Maria was seeded 4th at the Aussie Open. Despite a strong 2011 in which she came back to the Top 5 finally and reached a Grand Slam final, not many believed she would reach the final after her nasty ankle injury and lack of match play. She proved everyone wrong and showed what a great fighter she is. She stormed through the opening three rounds, losing only 5 games. She got revenge on Dulko for Wimby 2009 and beat soon to be Top 10- Kerber 6-1 6-2. Next up was her 4th round epic versus Lisicki who made Maria work hard. After the shocking elimination of Serena, Maria had a clear path to the Semis. She proved too strong versus Makarova, losing only 5 games. She went into the Semifinals as the complete underdog versus Kvitova. Kvitova had had a stellar year and was a few points away from reaching the No.1 ranking. Despite both not being at their best, they produced one of the most dramatic encounters of 2012 and Maria's will power pulled her through. In the final Maria was again inconsistent and lost to Azarenka 6-3 6-0, but all in all it was a very satisfying Australian Open!
Best of luck to Maria Sharapova at the 2013 Australian Open and lets hope our Siberian Siren can give another epic performance in Melbourne
Re: AO 2013: The Bridesmaid-Bride Double. The Sequel.
Nice work Fighterpova!! It just hit me that we have been watching her game mature and I think this year she will reach the peak she's been building since late 2011. I just wish that a certain other tennis player hadn't also reached her peak and weren't nearly unbeatable.
__________________ MARIA SHARAPOVA
career grand slam
proud silver medalist
Steffi Graf best female tennis player ever
AO 2013: The Bridesmaid-Bride Double. The Sequel.
Maria played really well in that Istanbul final, but it's very difficult for women to win matches if they can't break their opponents' serve 
