Tennis Forum banner

AO 2013: The Bridesmaid-Bride Double. The Sequel.

122K views 2K replies 122 participants last post by  Icky80 
#1 · (Edited)


Voodoo Magic​



Cow On Plexicushion Evolution

 
See less See more
5
#137 ·
If Serena keeps this level up, I'm not sure if there'll be someone who can take a set against her. Robotic serving and bashed returns that always catch the line :help:
 
#148 ·
As for the Istanbul match, I know a lot of people will jump on me and all, but it wasn't that close. Yes, Maria made Serena work, but Serena wasn't near her best, yet Maria didn't have a single break point in the match. Nowhere in the match did things indicate Maria may win, so Imo, it was a pretty comfortable win for Serena, even though it was refreshing to see Maria win more than her usual range of 1-4 games vs Serena :lol:
 
#149 ·
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.
 
#152 ·
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
 
#155 ·
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* :worship:
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 :cheer:
 
#162 ·
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.
 
#167 ·
Maria played so well. Her backhand down the line was phenomenal.
 
#170 ·
Seeding brackets are official, here's who Maria could theoretically draw in each round (if seedings hold):

1ST/2ND ROUND
Any non-seed (obviously) including Loomers Lisicki & Kuznetsova :unsure:

3RD ROUND
Venus, Hsieh, Cirstea, Shvedova, Stephens, Paszek, U.Radwanska, Barthel

4TH ROUND
Ivanovic, Kirilenko, Cibulkova, Vinci

QFs
Kerber, Li, Errani, Kvitova

SFs
Serena, Radwanska
 
#177 ·
God that SF with Kvitova last year was such an intense match. I woke up at 4am specifically for it and called in work sick later to rest! I remember literally struggling to not scream at the end!

Also completely unrelated, but or the very first time, I just saw some highlights vs Cadantu RG round 1 last year.. It was probably commented on lots at the time, but wtf was up with that girls variety of grunts.! :lol:
 
#179 ·
Lord, watching Kvitova play now against Cibulkova is so depressing :help:. I think it's safe to say that we shouldn't fear a match against her at the AO like we did last year. Although their matches have all been really competitive so who knows. It's just so sad watching these promising players fail to maintain a high level :sobbing:
 
#181 ·
The tougher the draw for Maria, the better. She's had enough time off and she needs matchups that get her attention and focus quickly. If she wants to be a factor and continue to be ranked in the top 3, she needs to take on and beat all comers. I don't want her avoiding anyone. And I want to see if that off-season work has paid off. Give me Lisicki or Svetlana in the first round. Serena is her same dominant self and Vika, when she did play, looked really good as well. So let's see what Maria is made of.

As for Kvitova, she's totally lost right now. I don't see the mental toughness, desire, and commitment to be the best in a demanding sport. I'm sure her people have tried to motivate her time and time again about her conditioning, but I see no improvement. That gut of hers isn't getting any smaller. It's totally up to her and right now she doesn't seem to be interested in being a great tennis player. There's still time for her to get serious, as we saw with Lindsay Davenport, but early results suggest 2013 won't be much different than 2012.
 
#182 ·
So, it looks like the first and third round could turn out to be really difficult depending on who she draws.
I don't really care that much about the draw to be honest, but I do hope she gets an easy first round, it's always best to get that first match of the season out of the way with a quick win.
 
#184 ·
I hope her draw isn't too challenging in the first couple of rounds at least. She won't have any matches under her belt like everyone else and it's better that she can build up some confidence first before running into any tough players, although I suppose that virtually every player is dangerous when she's on and Maria is not.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top