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Post by Admin on Jan 29, 2015 20:49:53 GMT
Ten years ago, match points on her racket, a 17-year-old Maria Sharapova could only watch as Serena Williams belted two winners by her deep in the third set of their Australian Open semifinal. A decade later and with 14 more matches between them, Sharapova has never held a match point against Williams again. Saturday in Melbourne, the world's top two ranked women's tennis players will meet for the 19th time as the American chases her 19th Grand Slam title. It's the marquee matchup of female stars of this generation, yet Sharapova hasn't come out on top against Williams since 2004, compiling a 2-16 head-to-head record overall. "The only thing I remember is (my) inside-out forehand on match point," Williams recalls of that 2-6, 7-5, 8-6 come-from-behind classic. "I hit it and I walked to the next side as if I knew it was already going to be a winner." It was the match that turned the tide of what looked to be tennis' modern-day version of great rivalries following in line with Martina Navratilova vs. Chris Evert and Steffi Graf vs. Monica Seles. Instead, it's become an embarrassingly lopsided affair for Sharapova, who has her own memory of that 2005 defeat. "The irony of this tournament is this is where the bugaboo really started," says Pam Shriver, the former player who now commentates on TV. "That loss set the table for the last 10 years of the rivalry. Maria has not recovered. It's the one thing that has gnawed at her." It's no secret that Williams and Sharapova aren't friends; they never have been. Sharapova has kept to herself on tour, first with her father and then with small teams of three or four, while the Williams clan is famously insular, Venus and Serena always at one another's side. In recent years, Williams' social circle has grown to include fellow top player Caroline Wozniacki. While Serena Williams raced towards history over the past decade, culminating with her 18th Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open last year, Sharapova has won four more majors since her breakthrough at Wimbledon in 2004, a final in which she shocked Williams in straight sets. Few players are gifted with the athletic prowess that has helped Williams dominate the women's game. She has the best serve, arguably the best return and does everything else, well, perhaps better than everyone else. But "anything is possible" against the 33-year-old world No. 1, says coach Nick Bollettieri, who has coached both of the finalists. "Sometimes in life people sort of have a hoax on you," Bollettieri says, "but you can't let yourself think on that. You have to go out and know what you're capable of doing. Maria's game is very simple: go for it."
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Post by Admin on Jan 31, 2015 21:05:01 GMT
The official time of Saturday’s women’s final at the Australian Open was one hour, 51 minutes. In reality, it ended in minute six. Maria Sharapova opened the match to serve. She had two game points. Serena Williams smacked those coldhearted winners that have defined their “rivalry” over the past 11 years on both. When Serena got her turn on break point, Sharapova double-faulted. They might as well have given Serena the trophy then. If Sharapova had any chance to break the mental hold Serena has over her (now at 16 matches and counting), it was to hold serve early and possibly score a break. Instead, Serena drew first, and last, blood, winning 6-3, 7-6 (5) in moving to a staggering 19-4 in Grand Slam finals. The win was her record sixth Australian Open and snaps her five-year drought in Melbourne, which had been her longest of any Slam. Sharapova put up a fight — she often does against Williams despite the head-to-head record — getting to a second-set tiebreak after being thoroughly dominated in the first set. That included saving a match point at 4-5 with a wicked forehand down the line and challenging in the tiebreak after going down 1-4. But Serena, and Serena’s serve in particularly, was too powerful. The Russian saw 18 serves whiz by and only won 16% of points on Serena’s first serve. Over half of those first serves never made it back into play. Sharapova earned a meaningless break at 2-5 in the first, then the women held serve for the entire second set. The tiebreak was close but after Serena opened with a mini-break, it was never in doubt, even when Sharapova got back on serve at 4-5. Then, just like in that first game, 111 minutes before, Sharapova hit a first-serve down the T that was smacked for an easy winner. Sharapova saved another match point before Serena won the tournament, on an ace, of course.
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Post by Admin on Feb 6, 2015 20:53:54 GMT
She had just endured a 30 hour flight from Melbourne but Maria Sharapova had a sneaky trick for hiding any signs of jet-lag. The 27-year-old Russian beauty wrapped up in a warm parka with a huge furry hood as she stepped out in Krakow, Poland, on Tuesday. Maria's hood covered most of her face while large sunglasses made sure if there were any bags under her eyes, they were well hidden. She may have a fantastic figure but the tennis beauty - who had a disappointing time at the Australian Open over the weekend when she lost out to Serena Williams in the final - kept it completely under wraps because of the chilly weather. With just days to go until her big match in the Federation Cup, Maria has been enjoying some down time in the Polish city, exploring the local area and hitting a few locals cafes. She was spotted making her way inside Café Camelot on Tuesday, teaming her jacket with animal print leggings, black boots and a black beanie hat. Maria was without her handsome tennis star boyfriend Grigor Dimitrov as she enjoyed a stroll around the city. 'We really don't have that much time during the tournament because our schedules are quite different and sometimes we end up playing the matches on different days,' the world's number two tennis player said of her 23-year-old Bulgarian beau. 'But it's always nice to catch up at the end of a day, that's usually when we have our time,' she explained. Unfortunately, she didn't sound quite so enthusiastic when talking about Poland ahead of her trip to Krakow to represent Russia in the Federation Cup. She sarcastically commented: 'I'm very much looking forward to the 30-hour flight I'm taking to Krakow tomorrow. 'A very convenient travel itinerary, too. It's like minus eight [degrees], so that's even better. Love the climate, love the travel.'
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Post by Admin on Feb 8, 2015 21:06:26 GMT
KRAKOW, Poland -- Maria Sharapova defeated Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 7-5 Sunday as Russia advanced to the semifinals of the Fed Cup with a 4-0 victory in the World Group first-round tie against Poland. "It is never easy to play after a long journey, new surface and very little training on it,'' Sharapova said. "I tried to play my best tennis and I am happy that I won in two sets.'' Sharapova hit a total of 39 winners on the indoor hardcourt, compared to 16 for Radwanska, and won the first set in 33 minutes. Sharapova led the second set 5-3 before Radwanska broke her serve and then drew level at 5-5 after surviving two match points. Sharapova held her next serve and broke Radwanska again to win on her third match point. Russia had a winning 3-0 lead after Sharapova's victory, which it increased to 4-0 after Vitalia Diatchenko and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Alicja Rosolska 6-4, 6-4. Radwanska also lost on Saturday to Svetlana Kuznetsova while Sharapova beat Agnieszka's younger sister, Urszula Radwanska. The second reverse singles on Sunday between Urszula Radwanska and Svetlana Kuznetsova did not take place. Russia will host Germany in the semifinals after it beat Australia 4-1 in their World Group tie. Read more here: Sharapova holds an 11-2 advantage in meetings between the two and has not lost to Radwanska since the Miami final in 2012. "It was important to start strong. I had a little bit of a let-down in the second set and she got a bit steadier," said Sharapova. "I'm happy to get through in straight sets." Elsewhere, 2013 champions Italy lead France 2-0.
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Post by Admin on Feb 12, 2015 20:55:29 GMT
Sometimes, it's staggering to comprehend just how multi-talented Maria Sharapova is. Not only is the 27-year-old one of the most accomplished competitors in the world of women's tennis, but she's also pretty good at keepy-uppy. Filmed during a practice session at this year's Fed Cup, the Russian star managed over 20 airborne passes with her trainers. Sharapova triumphed over Poland's Urszula Radwanska 6-1, 7-5 to send Russia into the semi-finals of the Fed Cup. Radwanska recovered two match points at 2-5 down in the second set to draw level at 5-5 but ran out of steam as Sharapova, who finished runner-up at the Australian Open, closed out the match in one hour and 46 minutes. She is competing in just her fourth Fed Cup tie since her 2008 debut as she bids to earn her place in the Russian national team for the 2016 Olympic Games in Moscow.
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