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Post by Admin on May 8, 2014 22:50:51 GMT
The former world no. 1 continued her winning streak on clay as she defeated former US Open champion Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-3 to move into the quarter-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday. The Russian, who won the Stuttgart title ten days ago, will meet world no. 2 Li Na for a place in the semi-finals. Li Na won her third round match in three sets over American Sloane Stephens. Sharapova is 9-5 against the Chinese player. The win also takes her record against Stosur to 13-2 lifetime.
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Post by Admin on May 9, 2014 21:44:37 GMT
Maria Sharapova defeated world No. 2 Li Na in the Madrid Open quarterfinals on Friday, extending her clay-court winning streak to 45 matches — 45 matches against players not named Serena Williams, that is. Sharapova’s Serena woes are well known. Since defeating her twice during her breakout 2004, she’s lost 15 straight matches to the world No. 1. That includes three recent losses on clay, which puts Sharapova’s clay-court record at 45-3 record since 2012. Those Serena defeats aside, Sharapova is the most dominating WTA player on what used to be her least favorite surface. Prior to 2011, she advanced past the French Open quarterfinals just once. She didn’t win a clay court event until 2008. Now, six of her past eight titles are on the surface. Sharapova has more wins on clay in the past four years than she did in the first eight of her career (and that’s without yet playing Rome or Roland Garros this season). How did it happen? Sharapova didn’t all of a sudden become a graceful mover on the court. It’s not as if she watched countless hours of Bjorn Borg tapes and tailored her game to win on tennis’s slowest surface. Her footwork has improved, but she’s not sliding all around the court like Nadal in his prime. The easiest answer is that she simply learned how to win on clay. Whether that’s because of increased patience (as Peter Bodo theorized) or the benefit of experience, Sharapova seems to have figured out how to wear down opponents.
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Post by Admin on May 10, 2014 21:43:30 GMT
Maria Sharapova held her nerve Saturday to reach her second consecutive Madrid Open final, where she'll play Simona Halep of Romania. Sharapova was cruising against Agnieszka Radwanska before allowing the third-seeded Pole to break back in the second set. But the eighth-ranked Russian recovered to secure a 6-1, 6-4 win. Despite a few blips, Sharapova has been steady all week and has lost just three times on clay since the 2011 French Open. All three of those losses came against Serena Williams, the two-time defending champion in Madrid who withdrew with a left thigh injury on Friday. Earlier, Halep rallied in the hot conditions to dispatch former champion Petra Kvitova 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2. ''She's having a great year so it's going to be an extremely difficult match,'' Sharapova said of Halep. Kvitova, the 2011 winner, looked on course for victory before unforced errors and the rising temperatures took their toll. The Czech was 2-0 up in the second set and cruising against Halep, who was visibly frustrated after a late call went against her during the first-set tiebreaker. But Kvitova hit 66 unforced errors and that inconsistency caught up with her as Halep recovered, with the now composed Romanian hitting 22 winners and breaking Kvitova four times over the last two sets. Kvitova struggled in the final set, looking sapped of energy by the end of a match that lasted more than 2 1/2 hours. ''It's been an amazing week for me, I feel very well here in Madrid,'' said the fifth-ranked Halep, who reached her first Masters series final. ''I played really well, I was striking the ball really well.''
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Post by Admin on May 11, 2014 21:31:54 GMT
Maria Sharapova recovered from an awful start to defeat Simona Halep and win the Mutua Madrid Open. It took Sharapova five games to get on the board and she lost the first set in less than half an hour, but the eighth seed turned things around early in the second set and went on to win 1-6 6-2 6-3. It certainly did not look like it would be a day to remember for Sharapova as Halep, the most improved player on the WTA Tour over the last year, raced into a 4-0 lead. Sharapova called her coach Sven Groeneveld onto court for some advice after only three games but she could do nothing to stem the tide. The Russian, who has not lost to anyone other than Serena Williams on clay in almost three years, broke serve for the first time for 2-1 and went on to level the match. Sharapova carried her momentum into the decider and opened up a 4-1 lead. Halep won two games in a row to put the pressure on but Sharapova pulled away again to clinch victory after an hour and 57 minutes. It extended her winning run on clay to 11 matches after the former French Open champion also won the title in Stuttgart two weeks ago.
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Post by Admin on May 12, 2014 21:41:41 GMT
Dinara Safina officially called it a career in Madrid - read about her career, see 20 of her best moments and watch an interview with the former World No.1 here. In an emotional on-court ceremony at the Mutua Madrid Open on Sunday, Dinara Safina officially announced her retirement from professional tennis after a career that was highlighted by 12 WTA titles - including right here in Madrid - three Grand Slams finals and the World No.1 ranking. One of the most powerful players ever to play the game, Safina emerged from brother Marat Safin's shadow in a big way in the late 2000s, particularly in 2008 and 2009, reaching three Grand Slam finals at the 2008 French Open, 2009 Australian Open and 2009 French Open, as well as rising to No.1 in the world on April 20, 2009. Her biggest triumph came at the inaugural Mutua Madrid Open in 2009. But nagging back injuries caused her to miss big chunks of time on the tour over the next two years, and after falling in the early rounds of Madrid in 2011 she never played again. Three years later, as Maria Sharapova stepped onto the podium to lift the Mutua Madrid Open crown, Safina stepped away. In addition to the video you're probably already watching - an interview with Safina from Madrid over the weekend - click here to take a look back at the Legend Of Dinara, courtesy of Courtney Nguyen.
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